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Inhibiting or Promoting? The Influence Mechanism of Coworker Developmental Feedback on Employees’ Focus on Limitations
Zhao Junzhe, Wang Minghui, Zhao Guoxiang
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (4) : 925-935.
PDF(1045 KB)
PDF(1045 KB)
Inhibiting or Promoting? The Influence Mechanism of Coworker Developmental Feedback on Employees’ Focus on Limitations
In today’s flatter organizational structures, the role of coworkers has become increasingly prominent. Compared with feedback from supervisors, feedback from coworkers has unique advantages. First, in terms of frequency, employees communicate more frequently with each other, which enables them to obtain more feedback from their coworkers. Second, in terms of content, coworkers can provide employees with more feedback information related to social norms based on their own work experience. Meanwhile, due to the similarity in work content and environment, coworkers can often gain a deeper understanding of others’ tasks and roles, enabling them to provide more effective feedback. However, the current feedback research predominantly focuses on the supervisor perspective, ignoring the unique influence of coworkers on employees. Coworker developmental feedback refers to useful or valuable information provided by coworkers that enables employees to improve their work. Therefore, this study examines the impact of coworker developmental feedback on employees’ focus on limitations. This study draws on two functional mechanisms from the feedback intervention theory to further explain the influence process of coworker developmental feedback, namely the task processes and the meta-processes. Additionally, when providing feedback, the characteristics of the feedback provider (coworker) will further influence the employee’s interpretation of the feedback. Therefore, this study considers the warm characteristics of coworkers to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the influence process of coworker developmental feedback. In summary, this study aims to explore how coworker developmental feedback affects employees’ focus on limitations through specific feedback intervention processes.
We tested the research hypotheses using a scenario-based experiment and a field questionnaire survey. The scenario-based experiment (Study 1) preliminarily explored the influence of coworker developmental feedback on employees’ task processes and meta-processes. Study 1 adopted a between-subjects scenario experimental design (high coworker developmental feedback vs. low coworker developmental feedback) and randomly assigned participants to two scenarios. We collected data from 173 full-time employees via an online questionnaire platform. The results of study 1 (N = 173) indicated that coworker developmental feedback enhanced employees’ task processes but did not significantly affect their meta-processes.
The field questionnaire study (Study 2) aimed not only to enhance the ecological validity of Study 1’s findings but also to further explore the outcomes and boundary conditions of the impact of coworker developmental feedback. Study 2 conducted a two-wave questionnaire survey, collecting data from 304 full-time employees in China. At Time 1, employees assessed coworker developmental feedback, perceived coworker warmth, task processes, meta-processes, and provided their demographic information. At Time 2 (two weeks after Time 1), employees assessed their focus on limitations. Study 2 (N= 304) replicated the findings in Study 1, with the exception of the non-significant influence of coworker developmental feedback on employees’ meta-processes. Furthermore, the results of study 2 also showed that: (1) Coworker developmental feedback enhanced employees’ task processes, thereby inhibiting their focus on limitations; (2) Coworker developmental feedback also led to an increase in focus on limitations by improving their meta-processes; (3) Perceived coworker warmth moderated the impact of coworker developmental feedback on employees’ focus on limitations, such that higher level of perceived coworker warmth strengthened the inhibitory effect of coworker developmental feedback on employees’ focus on limitations.
This study also makes several theoretical contributions. First, from the perspective of coworkers, this study discusses the influence of coworker developmental feedback on employees’ reactions and behaviors, and expands the research perspective and positive role of developmental feedback. Second, drawing on the feedback intervention theory, this study elucidates how coworker developmental feedback affects employees’ focus on limitations through task processes and meta-processes, thereby uncovering the specific mechanisms of feedback influence. Third, by introducing the perceived coworker warmth into the realm of developmental feedback research, this study offers a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of how coworker characteristics affect employees’ responses to feedback.
coworker developmental feedback / task processes / meta-processes / focus on limitations / perceived coworker warmth
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This paper investigates the underlying mechanism and boundary condition of the relationship between day-level supervisor developmental feedback (SDF) and day-level in-role performance (IRP) based on the framework of social exchange theory. The current study collects 290 matched surveys nested in 58 Chinese employees for five consecutive days, employing experience sampling method. Using hierarchical linear regression analysis, this paper examines the mediating role of perceived rapport with supervisors (PRS) and the moderating role of job control. Results show SDF has a positive effect on PRS and consequently enhances employee IRP. This indirect effect is moderated by employee job control. When job control is high, SDF helps supervisors develop a high-quality rapport with employees and is conducive to employees improving their IRP. However, when job control is low, the positive effect of SDF on IRP through PRS is not significant.
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Study 1 was conducted to examine the contribution of the joint condition of supervisor close monitoring and the presence of creative coworkers to employees' creativity. In addition to replicating Study 1's results, Study 2 examined (a) the joint condition of supervisor developmental feedback and presence of creative coworkers and (b) whether creative personality moderated the contributions of the 2 joint conditions. Converging results from the 2 field studies demonstrated that when creative coworkers were present, the less supervisors engaged in close monitoring, the more employees exhibited creativity. Study 2 also found that the contribution of this joint condition was stronger for employees with less creative personalities and that when creative coworkers were present, the more supervisors provided developmental feedback, the more employees exhibited creativity.
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