James P. Burton

Aggressive reactions to abusive supervision: The role of interactional justice and narcissism

In this study, we explore personality and situational conditions in which negative leadership - specifically, abusive supervision - is associated with aggressive behavior in subordinates. That is, we examine the role that interactional justice and narcissism play in an employees decision to respond aggressively to an abusive supervisor. We demonstrate that interactional justice mediates the relationship between perceptions of abusive supervision and subsequent employee aggression. In addition, we demonstrate that narcissism interacts with interactional justice perceptions to predict workplace aggression. We find that individuals with high levels of narcissism are the employees who are most likely to respond aggressively when they interpret their leaders behavior as abusive.

Employee Reactions to Job Insecurity in a Declining Economy: A Longitudinal Study of the Mediating Role of Job Embeddedness

In the context of the Great Recession, we examined the relationships among perceptions of job insecurity, job embeddedness, and important individual work outcomes. Specifically, we tested the role of job embeddedness as a mediator between job insecurity and the withdrawal outcomes of intention to remain and job search behavior. Results of a longitudinal study of 115 working adults indicated that perceptions of job embeddedness fully mediated the relationship between perceptions of job insecurity and intention to remain and partially mediated job insecurity’s relationship with job search behavior.

When research setting is important: the influence of subordinate self-esteem on reactions to abusive supervision

In this paper, we argue that the conflicting theoretical views regarding the role that self-esteem plays in the decision to become aggressive can be explained by the particular research methodology used. Specifically, we examine how individuals respond to a perceived abusive supervisor in two settings: (1) using scenarios and (2) in a field study. Results indicate that individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to become aggressive in response to an abusive supervisor in settings where they are asked what they would do (using scenarios). However, in field research settings, where they are asked what they did do, individuals with low self-esteem were more likely to become aggressive in response to an abusive supervisor.

The role of job embeddedness in the relationship between bullying and aggression

In this article, the role that job embeddedness plays in the relationship between workplace bullying and aggression both inside and outside the workplace is examined. In a sample of 165 working adults, individuals who report being the target of workplace bullying are more likely to act aggressively themselves, targeting their co-workers as well as their friends, family, and significant others. Furthermore, the relationship between workplace bullying and aggression is strengthened for individuals who are highly embedded in their job. These relationships are found even after controlling for two similar attachment constructs, namely job satisfaction and affective organizational commitment.

The Relative Strength of Job Attitudes and Job Embeddedness in Predicting Turnover in a U.S. Military Academy

This longitudinal study explored the relative strength of job satisfaction, components of organizational commitment, dimensions of job embeddedness and person–organization fit as predictors of voluntary turnover at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Using survey data from 643 first- and second-year cadets, we found that job satisfaction, affective commitment, on-the-job embeddedness, and person–organization fit were significantly negatively related to turnover. Based on relative weights analysis, we found the most powerful predictor of cadet turnover was person–organization fit, which has important implications for military leaders.

Linking Abusive Supervision to Employee Engagement and Exhaustion

ABSTRACT This research extends the differentiated job demands–resource model by integrating the main propositions of the transactional theory of stress to examine how cognitive appraisal processes link employee perceptions of abusive supervision to engagement and exhaustion. Two studies were conducted using a broad sample of employees. Study 1 developed the abusive supervision demand appraisal measure (ABSDAM). Study 2 examined the role that challenge or hindrance demand appraisals play in employee reactions to perceptions of abusive supervision. Study 1 determined that the ABSDAM was a valid means to measure how employees appraise abusive supervision as a challenge and/or hindrance demand. Study 2 found that hindrance demand appraisals mediate the relationship between perceived abusive supervision and exhaustion, while challenge demand appraisals mediate the relationship between perceived abusive supervision and engagement. This study suggests that accounting for demand appraisal processes provides further insight into how perceptions of abusive supervision may contribute to engagement and exhaustion.

The Great Leader Project

This paper examines a project that has been incorporated into an undergraduate Leadership and Decision Making class. The project, the Great Leader Project, focuses student attention on the fact that effective leadership is not only a function of the specific traits and behaviors of a leader, but also a function of the characteristics of the followers and the leaders context. In this project, a leader is randomly assigned to a group of students who are charged with analyzing the leader (both in a written report and an oral debate) using the concepts discussed in class. At the end of the semester, the groups compete against each other in a debate to determine which leader is the “greatest.” A complete discussion of the project is provided along with student feedback regarding its effectiveness.

A self-regulatory perspective of work-to-home undermining spillover/crossover: Examining the roles of sleep and exercise.

Research demonstrating that employees who are undermined at work engage in similar behavior at home suggests this connection reflects displaced aggression. In contrast, the present study draws on self-regulation theory to examine the work-home undermining spillover/crossover process. We propose that poor sleep quality transmits the influence of workplace undermining to home undermining per self-regulatory impairment, and exercise moderates this indirect effect per self-regulatory improvement. Using matched data from 118 employees and a member of their household to test our model, results demonstrated that undermining experienced from supervisors increased subjective (i.e., self-reported) but not objective (i.e., actigraph-recorded) sleep difficulties, which, in turn, increased the frequency with which individuals engaged in undermining at home (as reported by cohabitants). Additionally, indirect effects occurred for employees with low but not high levels of physical exercise (as measured by self-reports, step counts, and energy expenditure). Our findings suggest sleep and exercise may serve as valuable intervention points to prevent the spread of harmful behavior across contexts. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.