Seminar (Dept. of Organization and Human Resources)

Theme：Employee Perception of Being Envied by the Supervisor: Two Pathways for Navigating the Relationship

Speaker：Haoying (Howie) Xu (University of Illinois Chicago)

Time：2022-06-29 09:00

Address：Online Meeting

Language：Chinese/English

ABSTRACT：

This research develops a theoretical model that explains how and when perception of being envied by the supervisor is associated with the focal employee’s approach and avoidance-oriented interpersonal behaviors toward the supervisor. Drawing on cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion, this research examines two discrete emotions—relationship hope and relationship anxiety—as the key mechanisms in translating perception of being envied by the supervisor into organizational citizenship behavior toward the supervisor (OCB-S; a form of approach-oriented interpersonal behaviors) and interaction avoidance behavior toward the supervisor (IAB-S; a form of avoidance-oriented interpersonal behaviors), respectively. Integrating cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion with approach-inhibition theory of power, this research further suggests that the employee’s personal sense of power with respect to the supervisor is the key boundary condition in reconciling the approach and avoidance-oriented emotional and behavioral responses. Finally, invoking the literature on leader-member exchange (LMX), this research elucidates the divergent impacts of the two forms of interpersonal behaviors on the quality of the employee’s exchange relationship with the supervisor. Using an experimental study (Study 1) and a field study (Study 2), I tested the proposed hypotheses. The studies found that perception of being envied by the supervisor was positively related to OCB-S via relationship hope when the employee’s personal sense of power with respect to the supervisor was high. In contrast, although both studies found that perception of being envied by the supervisor was positively related to IAB-S via relationship anxiety, there was limited support for the moderating role of the employee’s personal sense of power with respect to the supervisor in qualifying this indirect effect. Study 2 further revealed that OCB-S and IAB-S are associated with a positive and a negative change in LMX, respectively.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY：

Haoying (Howie) Xu received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). His research lies at the intersection of leadership, workplace relationships, and groups/teams. His papers have appeared in management journals, such as Journal of Organizational Behavior, Human Relations, and Journal of Business Ethics. He served as a student representative for the OB Division of Academy of Management from 2019 to 2021.