From supervisor abuse to withdrawal: an exchange-based interplay of revenge motive

Purpose The rise of withdrawal behaviors has been increasingly associated with abusive supervision, but little is known about the actual mechanisms behind such reactions. This research investigates the process by which abusive supervision results in quiet quitting and time theft through a central mechanism of revenge motive, drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET). Design/methodology/approach A survey of 260 full-time service employees from Pakistan (Punjab) was administered at three time points. Time 1 measured abusive supervision, Time 2 revenge motive and Time 3-time theft and quiet quitting. Data were analyzed in SPSS v21 via the PROCESS Macro (Model 4) with 5,000 bootstraps and bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals. Findings Results indicate that abusive supervision increases employees' revenge motive, which in turn explains its effects on time theft and quiet quitting. In line with the SET, employees who experience unfair and hostile supervision feel motivated to seek revenge and engage in such retaliatory acts. The mediation results show that the revenge motive is an important mediator in the relations between abusive supervision and both outcomes. Originality/value This study contributes to the field by connecting both passive (quiet quitting) and active (time theft) forms of withdrawal into a unified perspective, showing that a desire for revenge is an important mechanism by which abusive supervision affects these outcomes. Through the lens of SET, the study adds to current knowledge by going beyond direct and affective explanations of the relationships between abusive supervision and disengagement and understanding them through mechanisms that connect mistreatment to modern forms of disengagement.