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

This research develops and tests 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) and interaction avoidance behavior toward the supervisor (IAB-S), respectively. Integrating cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion with approach-inhibition theory of power, this research suggests that employee 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. Invoking the literature on leader-member exchange (LMX), this research further 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), this research tested the proposed hypotheses. Both Study 1 and Study 2 revealed that perception of being envied by the supervisor was positively related to OCB-S via relationship hope only when employee personal sense of power with respect to the supervisor was high. In contrast, although both studies revealed that perception of being envied by the supervisor was positively related to IAB-S via relationship anxiety, there was limited support for the role of employee personal sense of power with respect to the supervisor in qualifying this indirect effect. Further, Study 2 revealed that OCB-S and IAB-S were associated with a positive and a negative change in LMX, respectively. In this study, I also found support for the role of employee personal sense of power in magnifying the positive pathway (i.e., relationship hope and OCB-S) linking perception of being envied by the supervisor and LMX. Yet, there was limited support for the role of employee personal sense of power with respect to the supervisor in qualifying the negative pathway (i.e., relationship anxiety and IAB-S) linking perception of being envied by the supervisor and LMX. In sum, this research suggests that for employees with a strong sense of power with respect to the supervisor, perception of being envied by the supervisor is associated with ambivalent emotional experiences of hope and anxiety about their relationship with the supervisor, which are then translated into a combination of OCB-S and IAB-S. The contradictory behaviors have opposite implications for LMX. However, for employees with a weak sense of power with respect to the supervisor, perception of being envied by the supervisor is only related to anxiety about their relationship with the supervisor, which further prompts IAB-S, ultimately undermining LMX. Taken together, perception of being envied by the supervisor represents a mixed blessing for LMX for employees with a strong sense of power with respect to the supervisor, but a detriment to LMX for employees with a weak sense of power with respect to the supervisor.