Status incongruence effects under conditions of task interdependence: Too close for comfort

Abstract

There are five generations of employees in the workforce. Such a distribution of ages makes it more likely that employees will be in non-traditional situations where workers are not only older but have more work experience, organizational tenure, or education than their supervisors. These situations reflect status incongruence and defy traditional workplace norms. We find that status incongruence with one’s supervisor is negatively associated with job satisfaction. There is an indirect effect between status incongruence and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) which is transmitted through job satisfaction. The relationship between status incongruence and job satisfaction is more negative when task interdependence with one’s supervisor is higher rather than lower. Similarly, the relationship between status incongruence and OCB is more negative when task interdependence with one’s supervisor is higher rather than lower. Results suggest that task interdependence may exacerbate employee responses to status incongruence.