Emotions and the Bad Boss

We examine the mechanisms by which abusive supervision is associated with a subordinate’s turnover intentions. Using affective events theory (AET) as a theoretical framework, we suggest that abusive supervision is a contextual event that is associated with a subordinate’s affective reaction and corresponding evaluative judgment of their workplace, which ultimately leads to increased turnover intentions. We examine two key mediators in the abuse to turnover relation; subordinates are likely to experience decreased hope (a goal-related affective state based on the expectation of positive outcomes) after having experienced abuse from a supervisor, which then impacts an employees’ affect-based evaluation of the organization (i.e. affective commitment). Two samples, a field study and an experiment, were analyzed using structural equation modeling and support our proposed chain of relationships. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for research and practice.