Make Them Feel: How the Disclosure of Pregnancy to a Supervisor Leads to Changes in Perceived Supervisor Support

Abstract

Personal disclosure at work can help facilitate high-quality relationships; however, these results may depend on people’s reactions to them. We suggest that reactions to a disclosure—particularly supervisor reactions—can relate to abrupt and enduring changes in perceptions of relationship quality. Drawing on theory related to relationship-defining memories [Alea N, Vick SC (2010) The first sight of love: Relationship-defining memories and marital satisfaction across adulthood. Memory 18(7):730–742.], informational justice [Lind EA (2001) Fairness heuristic theory: Justice judgments as pivotal cognitions in organizational relations. Greenberg J, Cropanzano R, eds. Advances in Organizational Justice (Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, CA), 56–88.], and emotions [Van Kleef GA (2009) How emotions regulate social life. Current Directions Psych. Sci. 18(3):184–188.], we investigate the mechanisms through which supervisor reactions to pregnancy disclosure influence changes in employees’ perceived supervisor s...