Unveiling the Role of Supervisor Workaholism: Impact on Idiosyncratic Deals and Employee Promotability

ABSTRACT Research investigating the outcomes of idiosyncratic deals (i‐deals) often overlooks the perspective of employee career advancement, while research examining the antecedents of i‐deals largely neglects supervisors' personal characteristics. Additionally, few studies in workaholism adopt an inter‐personal lens to examine how one individual's workaholism influences others at workplace. Drawing on the Role Identity Theory, we address these gaps by examining the relationships between supervisor workaholism, three types of i‐deals (task, schedule flexibility, and location flexibility), and employee promotability. Utilizing data collected from 414 employees and 54 supervisors in China, we find a negative relationship between supervisor workaholism and both schedule flexibility i‐deals and location flexibility i‐deals, as well as a positive link between task i‐deals and employee promotability. Additionally, our results demonstrate that supervisor workaholism moderates the effects of both task i‐deals and location flexibility ideals on promotability. Further supplementary analyses reveal that supervisors' assessments of employees' intrinsic motivation mediate the effect of task i‐deals on promotability, and that supervisor workaholism moderates both the effect of schedule i‐deals on intrinsic motivation and the indirect effect of schedule i‐deals on promotability through intrinsic motivation. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.