The relationship between job standardization and abusive supervision

Abstract

Job standardization is widely used to ensure uniform, efficient, and effective production and resultant organizational performance. However, phenomena suggests that employees with high job standardization seem to have a negative relationship with their supervisors. Using job demands–resources theory as an underlying explanation, this study proposes that job standardization enhances a negative supervisor–subordinate relationship characterized by abusive supervision. Three-wave panel and two-source survey data were collected from 255 employees and their supervisors. Empirical results indicated job standardization enhanced abusive supervision partially through the decreased appraisal respect of subordinates for supervisors and that of supervisors for subordinates. The results indicate a dilemma in employing the job design of standardization: on the one hand, it facilitates managerial effectiveness; on the other hand, it can decrease that effectiveness by deteriorating the supervisor–subordinate relationship. This study extends and shifts the understanding of the consequences of job standardization from the employee perspective to the managerial perspective.