Longitudinal relations between abusive supervision, subordinates’ emotional exhaustion, and job neglect among Pakistani Nurses: The moderating role of self-compassion

The main purpose of this study was to investigate reciprocal relationships between abusive supervision, subordinates’ emotional exhaustion, and job neglect, and to examine the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in the cross-lagged relationship between abusive supervision and job neglect. Besides, we tested the moderating role of self-compassion in the cross-lagged relationship between abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion. We applied a two-wave cross-lagged panel design with a time lag of six months. Participants were 331 staff nurses of public sector hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire at two points in time. Longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to compare nested models. Results of cross-lagged SEM analyses supported the posited reciprocal model, indicating that abusive supervision, emotional exhaustion, and job neglect are mutually related. Results of mediation analysis showed that emotional exhaustion partially mediates the cross-lagged relationship between abusive supervision and job neglect. Further, we found that self-compassion attenuates the positive cross-lagged effect of abusive supervision on emotional exhaustion, and the indirect effect of abusive supervision on job neglect was weaker at higher levels of self-compassion. Our findings suggest that subordinates may find themselves in abusive relationships, in part, because their own behavioral responses to abuse can reinforce abusive supervision. Moreover, we identified the stress-buffering effect of self-compassion on emotional exhaustion.