Mapping the Situational Structure of Workplace Exploitation

Many people feel exploited at work. This negatively affects their motivation and productivity, thus leading to adverse outcomes for workers and employers. Whereas past research on workplace exploitation has largely focused on its consequences, less is known about when it occurs. In this paper, we use interdependence theory to study which workplace relations are perceived as exploitative and by whom. We collect representative observational data on perceptions of interdependence in real-life interactions in which exploitation occurred in the workplace. In addition, we experimentally test for the direction of causality between perceived interdependence structure and affordance of exploitation. We find that perceived exploitation is widespread and that exploitative situations share a common interdependence structure. Herein, workers' lack of power over their own outcomes acts a key driver of exploitation affordance. Thus, while exploitative behavior may manifest very differently across diverse workplace settings, we uncover that people perceive exploitative interactions in very similar ways. Our findings advance research on exploitation in the workplace but have practical relevance too: understanding common structures of exploitative situations facilitates their identification and mitigation. Thus, our results provide guidance for organizations aiming to restructure workplaces at risk of exploitation.