Examining the impact of abusive supervision on citizenship behavior: the perspective of South African public servants.

Abstract

The subject of abusive supervision is pervasive in most of the public sectors of South Africa. Drawing on the existing and limited body of research knowledge about abusive supervision and organizational citizen behavior, the current qualitative study critically assessed how employees protrude themselves in the organization after being victims of abusive supervision. This study observed the impact of abusive supervision on subordinates’ citizenship behavior in South African public organizations. The study sought to establish how public servants’ employees would respond in an event whereby they are antagonized by abusive supervision in an organization. The researcher examines how abusive supervision affects the citizenship behavior of the employees. Findings demonstrated that South African public servants react irrationally in the event of abusive supervision. A focus group interview with Seven groups of municipal employees was conducted using open-ended questions. Afterwards, there were one-on-one interviews with the seniors working in the public servant sectors.