Creating facades of conformity in the face of abusive supervision and emotional exhaustion: the boundary role of self-enhancement motives

This study investigates the role of creating facades of conformity (FOC) in the face of abusive supervision. We theorize FOC as a response to the resource depletion that occurs due to experiencing abusive supervision (AS). We additionally examine the effect of creating FOC on employee emotional exhaustion (EE) and discover that creating FOC impacts employee EE. We investigate the role self-enhancement motives (SEM) play in accentuating the display of FOC and their impact on the indirect relationship between AS and EE. Using a three-wave study design with data collected from 321 service sector employees in Pakistan, we found that AS led to the use of FOC and these were positively linked to EE. SEM accentuated the association between FOC and abusive supervision. Employees with high SEM were more likely to create FOC. We therefore contribute to theory on AS through a constructive replication of the AS-EE relationship. Additionally, we highlight that FOC paradoxically leads to EE. We shed light on an important boundary condition of the AS-FOC relationship and the overall indirect relationship between AS and EE. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study.