When and how supervisor's negative gossip influence target's proactive and withdrawal behavior: A perspective of self-regulation at work

The literature presents contradictory evidence regarding the influence of supervisor negative gossip on work behaviors of targeted employees. By regarding supervisor negative gossip as a stressor that triggers targeted employees' self-regulatory processes, this study investigates the roles of targeted employees' cognitive appraisal and regulatory focus in the relationship between supervisor negative gossip and their proactive/withdrawal behavior. Results from a scenario-based experiment and a time-lagged field study showed that: (1) supervisor negative gossip elicits both challenge and hindrance appraisals among targeted employees; (2) supervisor negative gossip has an indirect positive effect on targeted employees' proactive behavior and an indirect negative effect on their withdrawal behavior via challenge appraisal, and this indirect effect is significantly strengthened by promotion focus; (3) supervisor negative gossip also has an indirect negative effect on targeted employees' proactive behavior and an indirect positive effect on their withdrawal behavior via hindrance appraisal, and this indirect effect is significantly weakened by prevention focus. This study highlights that the impact of supervisor negative gossip on targeted employees' proactive/withdrawal behaviors depends on their cognitive appraisal and regulatory focus. It also clarifies the self-regulatory mechanism underlying targets' behavioral responses to supervisor negative gossip. • Integrates conflicting findings on supervisor negative gossip (SNG) into a unified model, examining its dual impacts on employees’ proactive and withdrawal work behaviors. • Explains SNG’s complex effects from a novel perspective, distinguishing employees’ cognitive appraisals and subsequent self-regulatory processes to clarify the mechanism. • Identifies employees’ regulatory focus as a critical boundary condition, showing how it shapes the link between SNG and employees’ work behaviors.