From Manipulation to Silence: Examining the Mediating Roles of Workplace Anxiety and Abusive Supervision and Conditioned by Leaders Self-Serving Cognition

Aim: Machiavellianism, which describes leaders pursuing their own interests by followers, has recently attracted the attention of academics.Methodology: The body of data suggests that leaders’ Machiavellianism has a wide range of negative effects, we examine why and when leaders exhibit Machiavellianism in order to provide guidance on how to avoid it. Based on trait activation theory, we suggest that when leaders with Machiavellian traits have a weak sense of responsibility for their choices and employee silence, they are more likely to experience workplace anxiety, abusive supervision, and self-serving cognitionParticipants in the study included 211 workers from Athens, Greece’s service sector SMEs. The theories were tested using structural equation modeling in a quantitative study.Findings: The findings show that leaders’ Machiavellianism has a significant impact on workplace anxiety and abusive supervision through employee silence. A leader’s self-serving cognition moderates the significant relationship between workplace anxiety, abusive supervision, and employee silence.