Supervisor Agreeableness and Subordinate Counterproductive Work

Given the detrimental consequences of abusive supervision, the present research investigates whether supervisor agreeableness (HEXACO) predicts daily abuse and whether this relation is moderated by relationship conflict. Additionally, it examines whether abusive supervision mediates the relationship between supervisor agreeableness and subordinate counterproductive work behavior (CWB). A daily diary design was used, with 102 supervisor-subordinate dyads completing questionnaires over ten workdays. Results from multilevel modelling showed that supervisor agreeableness was not significantly related to abusive supervision, and relationship conflict did not moderate this relation. Daily abusive supervision, however, was positively and significantly related to subordinate CWB. The indirect effect and moderated mediation were both non-significant. Theoretically, these findings suggest that the workplace may be a strong situation that suppresses the expression of low agreeableness and because traits reflect long-term, stable behavioral tendencies, they may fail to show up in response to daily triggers. Practically, relying on agreeableness-based screening and conflict-management alone to prevent abusive supervision may be insufficient. Instead, organizations should focus on enforcing zero-tolerance policies, as well as creating secure reporting channels for employees. Future research should examine alternative boundary conditions and HEXACO traits that may interact with other situational triggers.