Supplemental Supervisor (Bossy Co-Workers) - Social Undermining In The Workplace

 Social undermining has been very effective in the workplace. Various aspects of social undermining have affected the workplace and specific races. In workplaces, social undermining has connection with social interaction. Research has shown if a person has a supportive environment in their work setting, they are more likely to have a more satisfied life. Research has shown that social undermining exists in a separate and distinct continuum when looking at positive workplace behavior (e.g. social support).
 Social undermining can arise through interactions with co-workers and supervisors; these interactions have an effect on the workers that are being undermined and can affect their work performance. Vinokur found that those who alleged to have social undermining in the workplace reported to have poorer mental health and experienced less well-being. The study shows that undermining has a significant role in worker-supervisor and co-worker relationship and that it leads to various different outcomes such as feelings of irritability, anxiety, depersonalization, and depression. It shows that social undermining affects a person’s work ethics and well being. Various different empirical studies have found that undermining has three specific factors that develop counterfactual thoughts. For example: "what would my life be like if I were not the target of undermining?" These studies' findings indicate that "this rift plays a role in determining the magnitude of the employee’s reaction to the event by making the deprived state more salient".

 Behaviors of social undermining can affect a person and his or her perceptions. The study conducted by Gant et al. addressed African American workers' perceptions of co-workers and supervisors. The research by Duffy, Gangster, Shaw, Johnson, and Pagon addressed the fairness theory introduced by Folger and Cropanzano 1998. The fairness theory suggests that when individuals face negative situations (such as being undermined by coworkers or supervision) they make cognitive comparisons known as counterfactual thoughts; i.e., they compare what actually happened to what might have been. The results show that social undermining is closely related to attitudes and behavior regarding one person being or feeling "singled out".

Envy
​ While social undermining can affect a person's behavior and attitude on their job, it can also bring about envy. Envy can have a positive or negative effect: positive effects include increased performance or attempts at self-improvement. However, envy can have some very harmful effects, including aggression or crime. It can lead to belittling, gossip, withholding information, and giving someone the silent treatment.

Abusive supervision
​ Abusive supervision can arise in different areas such as in the household, at school, and at a workplace. "Abusive supervision has been investigated as an antecedent to negative subordinate workplace outcome". "Workplace violence has combination of situational and personal factors" (e.g., Barling, 1996). The study that was conducted looked at the link between abusive supervision and different workplace events. Social undermining can arise from abusive supervision, such as when a supervisor uses negative actions and it leads to "flow downhill"; a supervisor is perceived as abusive.
Research has shown that "abusive supervision is a subjective assessment made by subordinates regarding their supervisors" behavior towards them over a period of time. For example, abusive supervision includes a "boss demeaning, belittling, or invading privacy of the subordinate.
 Hostile attribution bias is an extra punitive mentality where individuals tend to project blame on others. Researchers wanted to see how hostile attribution bias can moderate the relationship between perceptions of psychological contract violation and subordinates’ perceptions of abusive supervision. Undermining does arise with abusive supervision, which affects families and aggression; they believe that there is a stronger positive relationship between experiences of psychological contract violation and subordinates’ reports of abuse. It suggests that when someone has a negative work environment, it will affect their emotional training ground where this would result in negative home encounters. The findings from this study show that abused subordinates' family members reported a higher incidence of undermining in their home. When this occurs, complications arise at both home and work. Workplace abuse may be spawning negative interpersonal relations in the home, which may contribution to a downward spiral of relationships in both spheres.
 When a subordinate is being abused, it can lead to negative affect towards their family where the subordinate starts undermining their family members. The undermining can arise from displaced aggression which is "redirection of a [person’s] harm doing behavior from a primary to a secondary target" (Tedeschi & Norman, 1985, p. 30). Family undermining arises from a negative work environment: when someone above you puts you down, one starts to think that one should be put down by one's family members.
​​Excerpts of this blog were provided by Wikipedia

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