Psychological and Organizational Antecedents and Consequences of Abusive Supervision in Israel: Review and Research

Abusive supervision relates to subordinates’ experiences of the degree to which supervisors are involved in the continuous demonstration of verbal and non-verbal aggressive behaviours towards them; it is widespread in Israel as well as in other countries, and its consequences have been found to be detrimental for individuals as well as for organizations (Salton Meyer and Mikulincer, Israel—A land of contrasts 2016). What predicts abusive supervision? What typifies its negative consequences in the workplace? The present chapter discusses these questions in the unique context of Israeli culture as portrayed in Israeli workplaces. The chapter starts with a description of the unique Israeli context. It continues with a review of international studies as well as research performed in Israel. The chapter then presents a study that aimed to advance knowledge on the negative outcomes of abusive supervision for subordinates in an Israeli organization in the mental healthcare sector. The research investigated the contribution of abusive supervision to several negative consequences for subordinates including their well-being, distress, burnout, job satisfaction, intent to quit and absenteeism. Findings revealed that abusive supervision was linked to higher burnout, lower job satisfaction and greater intention to quit. In addition, job satisfaction mediated the association between abusive supervision and intent to quit. The significance of the findings is discussed in the last part of this chapter, including their contribution to the advancement of research on negative workplace behaviours, their practical implications and a discussion of the results’ unique significance in the context of the healthcare sector in Israel.