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Abstract

Supervisor phubbing occurs when supervisors use their mobile phone during an interaction with a subordinate. This study explores the effects of supervisor phubbing on employees’ organization-based self-esteem with a specific focus on subordinates’ experience of social exclusion. Drawing on data from a sample of 407 respondents, the study findings show no direct relationship between perceived supervisor phubbing and organization-based self-esteem. However, employees who perceive their supervisor as using a phone more frequently during interpersonal interactions with them reported higher feelings of social exclusion during these interactions, which, in turn, predicted lower organization-based self-esteem. The study also examined the facilitating effect of power distance between supervisors and employees, which was partially supported. The implications of these findings for organizational policy are discussed.

Keywords

supervisor phubbing social exclusion organization-based self-esteem rejection sensitivity need to belong power distance

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Supervisor Phubbing Phenomenon in Organizations: Determinants and Impacts

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