Do employees benefit from engaging in status-striving strategies? The roles of leader hostility and leader trust in employees

Abstract

Drawing on the evolutionary social psychological theory of status, we examine how and when employee dominance and prestige influence leaders’ interpersonal reactions. Using data from a three-wave survey of Chinese workers and studies using two experimental designs with Western samples, we find that, in general, employee dominance is positively related to leader hostility toward employees and, in turn, negatively related to employee performance evaluations and leader helping behavior. Conversely, employee prestige is negatively related to leader hostility toward employees, such that leaders are less likely to evaluate employee performance negatively and more likely to help employees. In addition, the level of leader trust in employees moderates the effects of employee dominance and prestige on leader hostility toward employees.