Abusive supervision and psychological distress: moderated mediating role of workplace ostracism and psychological resilience

Raghavendra Prasanna Kumar and Shwetha H.S.

Evidence-based HRM, 2026, 1-16

Abstract: PurposeDrawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examines how abusive supervision is associated with psychological distress through workplace ostracism and investigates the moderating and moderated mediating roles of psychological resilience in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachA time-lagged, two-wave survey design was employed to collect data from full-time employees working across diverse industries in Karnataka, India. Data were examined using SPSS Process Macro Model 7 and bootstrapping methods to test the moderated mediation.FindingsThe results indicate that abusive supervision is positively associated with workplace ostracism, which is also positively associated with psychological distress. However, the mediating role of workplace ostracism was partial. Psychological resilience significantly moderated the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace ostracism, such that the relationship was weaker at higher levels of resilience. Furthermore, the index of moderated mediation confirmed that the indirect effect of abusive supervision on psychological distress through workplace ostracism was attenuated when resilience was high.Practical implicationsOrganizations should implement leadership development initiatives to reduce abusive supervision while simultaneously investing in resilience-building interventions to protect employees' well-being.Originality/valueThis study extends COR theory by showing that psychological resilience weakens the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace ostracism and attenuates the conditional indirect effect on psychological distress.

Keywords: Abusive supervision; Workplace ostracism; Psychological distress; Psychological resilience; Conservation of resources theory; Moderated mediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:ebhrmp:ebhrm-02-2026-0103

DOI: 10.1108/EBHRM-02-2026-0103

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