Abusive Supervision and Workplace Procrastination: The Chain Mediating Role of Shame and Stress Overload

Peng Kaiqi; Li Zijun; Wang Rong

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240412

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (4) : 863-870. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240412

Social, Personality & Organizational Psychology

Abusive Supervision and Workplace Procrastination: The Chain Mediating Role of Shame and Stress Overload

Peng Kaiqi, Li Zijun, Wang Rong

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Abstract

With the increasingly compact pace of production, the accumulation of multitasks as well as high pressure working environments require employees to hold high levels of time management ability. Workplace procrastination refers to the phenomenon that, employees deliberately put off work-related action during formal working hours by engaging in non-work-related cognition or behavior. It deserves academic attention. Previous studies have shown that workplace procrastination is not only detrimental to the career development of employees, but also poses risks for organizational profits. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to investigate the formation mechanism of workplace procrastination. Based on the Appraisal Theories of Emotion and the Conservation of Resources Theory, we expected that abusive supervision would first activate self-conscious emotions of employees (i.e., shame), and then increased stress perception, and exerted influences on their workplace behaviors. Specifically, we built a chain mediation model with shame emotion and perception of stress overload as mediators, to explore the relation between abusive supervision and employees' workplace procrastination.
A total of 421 full-time employees were recruited to participate in a three-wave survey (with one week in between). In the first wave, participants were required to rate the frequency of perceived abusive supervision and provide their demographic information. In the second wave, participants reported their levels of shame emotion and perception of stress overload. Finally, in the third wave, participants rated their levels of workplace procrastination. The final valid matched sample consisted of 308 employees.
After controlling the demographic variables, data was analyzed by using SPSS 28.0 and Amos 24.0. The results indicated a significantly positive correlation between abusive supervision and employees' workplace procrastination. More importantly, abusive supervision could influence employees' workplace procrastination indirectly through the following three paths: (a) The focal relation was mediated by employees' shame emotion; (b) The focal relation was mediated by employees' perception of stress overload; and (c) Both shame emotion and perception of stress overload played a chain meditation role in the process of abusive supervision influencing employees' workplace procrastination.
This study made several contributions. First, we linked supervisors' abusive behaviors with subordinates' procrastination behaviors in an integrated model. This study enriches the literature about the consequences of leadership styles as well as the antecedents of workplace procrastination. Second, taking both employees' shame emotion and perception of stress overload perception into consideration, we built a chain mediation model to clarify the underlying mechanism between abusive supervision and workplace procrastination. Specifically, destructive leadership styles, such as abusive supervision, are likely to activate employees' negative emotions, and consequently influence employees' cognition and behavior. Our findings also provide several implications for practice. For example, organizations should take actions to reduce the risks of abusive supervision on workplace procrastination, such as intervening employees' negative emotions, and decreasing perceived stress levels of the focal employee who is abused by the supervisor and feel shamed accordingly. However, future research is needed to explore the boundary conditions of the above chain relations (e.g., personalities and job characteristics) and to consider other potential mediators (e.g., work-related rumination) to deepen our understandings about the relation between leadership styles and workplace procrastination.

Key words

abusive supervision / shame / stress overload / workplace procrastination

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Peng Kaiqi, Li Zijun, Wang Rong. Abusive Supervision and Workplace Procrastination: The Chain Mediating Role of Shame and Stress Overload[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2024, 47(4): 863-870 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240412

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