Undermining meaningfulness: The role of abusive supervision for hybrid and office workers

What is it about?

Meaningful work is a central determinant of employee well-being, motivation, and performance, yet little is known about how abusive supervision undermines employees’ experience of meaningful work, particularly across hybrid/remote and office-based contexts. Adopting a resource-based perspective, this study examines how abusive supervision relates to meaningful work among hybrid/remote and in-office employees via reducing three key resources: autonomy, self-efficacy, and belongingness. Using cross-sectional survey data from 512 employees in Spain and Portugal, we tested a parallel mediation model comparing hybrid and in-office workers. Although abusive supervision did not directly relate to meaningful work in either group, it strongly reduced the three key psychological resources, which significantly reduced meaningful work. All mediational pathways were significant for both groups; however, indirect relationships were consistently stronger among hybrid workers. These findings suggest that hybrid/remote working employees are more vulnerable to abusive supervision due to heightened dependence on supervisors in contexts characterized by physical distance.

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Why is it important?

Our findings suggest that meaningful work depends heavily on employees’ access to psychological resources, and that abusive supervision threatens these resources. They further indicate that the growing prevalence of hybrid work may amplify the impact of destructive leadership, making supportive supervisory relationships particularly critical in remote and hybrid work environments.

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