Back to Search Start Over

Delivering bad news fairly: The influence of core self-evaluations and anxiety for the enactment of interpersonal justice.

Authors :
Hillebrandt, Annika
Saldanha, Maria Francisca
Brady, Daniel L
Barclay, Laurie J
Source :
Human Relations; Jul2022, Vol. 75 Issue 7, p1238-1269, 32p
Publication Year :
2022

Abstract

What motivates managers to deliver bad news in a just manner and why do some managers fail to treat recipients of bad news with dignity and respect? Given the importance of delivering bad news in a just manner, answering these questions is critical to promote justice in the workplace. Drawing on appraisal theories of emotions, we propose that people with higher core self-evaluations may be less likely to deliver bad news in an interpersonally just manner. This is because these actors are more likely to appraise the delivery of bad news as a situation in which they have high coping potential and are therefore less likely to experience anxiety. However, we propose that anxiety can be important for propelling the enactment of interpersonal justice. We test our predictions across three studies (with four samples of full-time managers and employees). Theoretical and practical contributions include enhancing our understanding of who is motivated to enact interpersonal justice, why they are motivated to do so, and how to enhance justice in the workplace. Our findings also challenge the assumption that negative emotions are necessarily dysfunctional for the enactment of interpersonal justice and instead highlight the facilitative role of anxiety in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00187267
Volume :
75
Issue :
7
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Human Relations
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
157071241
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267211011000