Abstract:

In the current research we investigated the internal structure of Bennett Tepper’s (2000) abusive supervision scale and tested its reliability and validity in the Polish context. In two studies, using separate samples of employees from various organizations (N = 934 and N = 463), we have confirmed a single factor structure of the Polish version of abusive supervision scale. We have also proposed a short, 8-item form of the scale. Reliability and validity analysis have yielded satisfactory parameters for both, the full and the short scale. Observed correlations revealed that abusive supervision relates to perceptions of low trust in management and coworkers and diminished organizational justice. Heightened stress indicators such as somatic, cognitive, and emotional responses, offensive behaviors among co-workers like gossiping and conflicts, counterproductive work behaviors like sabotage, abuse, withdrawal and theft and low engagement at work were also significantly and positively related to abusive supervision. This study contributes to the universality of the abusive supervision measure and provides further evidence that abusive supervision breeds detrimental outcomes for individuals and organizations.