Manager Self-complexity and Subordinate Work-related Burnout: The Mediating Role of Ego Depletion and Abusive Supervision

Abstract Does the managerʼs self-complexity matter for employee perception of abusive supervision and their responses? Drawing on self-complexity, self-concept differentiation, and self-control theories, we examine the serial indirect effects of components of manager self-complexity on subordinate work-related burnout through manager ego depletion and abusive supervision. We argue that managers who possess a great number of self-aspects and maintain a high degree of overlap among them will experience lower ego depletion. In addition, they are less likely to be perceived as abusive supervisors, and their subordinates will subsequently experience less work-related burnout. We test our hypotheses using two independent samples (Sample 1: 179 U.K. managers; Sample 2: 109 Taiwanese managers and their 415 subordinates) and find consistent support for our hypothesized relationships. The implications and limitations of this research, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.