How do abusive supervisors affect their employee’s psychological safety? An employee’s relationship with their leader is one of the most consequential influences on an individual in the workplace. Having an abusive supervisor, characterized by their hostile verbal and nonverbal actions can have a detrimental effect on their employees, including the perceived level of psychological safety. Through a time-lagged survey-based methodology, we examine the relationship between abusive supervision and employee’s psychological safety, and the intervening role played by varying levels of social support. We hypothesize that employees who experience more abusive supervision will enact defensive actions to protect themselves and their resources, including social withdrawals and engaging in unhealthy competition with colleagues, diminishing levels of social support. Through this diminished social support, people feel less supported and safe speaking up and sharing their thoughts, ideas, and values in the workplace (i.e., less psychologically safe). Our results provide support for the negative abusive supervision – psychological safety relationship and the mediating role of social support. A discussion of the practical and theoretical implications, as well we recommendations for future research will be provided.
The impostor phenomenon (IP; Clance & Imes, 1978) is a common experience among individuals in the workplace, often occurring without their knowledge. IP describes how an individual can convince themselves they are a ‘fraud’ within the workplace, having ‘faked’ their way to success, in which they fear being exposed as an imposter. Individuals who experience IP often experience mental blocks that impact their competence, affecting their behaviors and performance in the workplace. This study was measured through a time-lagged survey that explores the relationship between IP and creativity within the workplace, using ego depletion as the mediator of that relationship. Results of the study support the hypothesis, showing that IP is positively related to ego depletion, and ego depletion is negatively related to creativity, which ego depletion mediates the relationship between IP and workplace creativity. These findings support the concept that IP can be a resource-draining experience, shown through ego depletion, and that IP is negatively related to workplace creativity. A discussion of these implications for theory and directions for future research will be provided.
This project examines potential administrative barriers to initial Nursing Home Administrator (NHA) licensure, with particular attention to the timeline required to obtain licensure after completing educational and experiential requirements. Over half of U.S. states recognize the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards (NAB) Health Services Executive (HSE) Qualification as meeting eligibility standards for NHA licensure. To earn the HSE via the education pathway, applicants must graduate from a NAB HSE-accredited program, complete a 1,000-hour Administrator Residency (primarily in skilled nursing, with exposure to assisted living and home- and community-based services), and pass the NAB Core and three line-of-service examinations. However, in many states, applicants must first apply for initial licensure before receiving authorization to sit for these exams, potentially creating delays.Using a mixed-methods design, three trained data collectors in each of 51 U.S. jurisdictions evaluated timelines, communication processes, and barriers to licensure while posing as graduates of NAB HSE-accredited programs. Descriptive statistics and thematic qualitative analyses are underway. Preliminary findings suggest variability in exam authorization procedures, communication clarity, and overall processing timelines. Identifying administrative barriers may inform policy alignment and streamline licensure processes to support a competent leadership workforce amid growing long-term care demands.
Our goal is to assess the administrative burden undertaken by prospective long-term care administrators seeking licensure. With the growing need for long term care, and increasing need for healthcare leaders, studying possible deterrents to joining the industry can help make long-term care more accessible. To study the administrative burden taken on by prospective licensees, investigators developed a rubric with qualitative and quantitative questions relating to expected costs, online information, timelines, and other challenges for Licensed Nursing Home Administrator (LNHA) applicants. 35 student data collectors underwent training and were each assigned three U.S. states, following a simulated applicant journey with no knowledge about licensure requirements in each assigned state. Using the structured data collection rubric, they tracked time spent on each step while documenting websites visited and roadblocks encountered. After data analysis, several trends emerged, suggesting a significant portion of states appeared to have barriers to finding and understanding initial licensure requirements. Participant feedback such as including clear flowcharts, simplifying language, and improving website navigation are offered as suggestions for state licensing websites. Reducing administrative burden and increasing clarity about the licensure pathway can make jobs more accessible and ensure people motivated to join this profession feel supported.
This project, supported by a UWEC International Fellows Blugold Commitment Funding, examined long-term care (LTC) services in Spain to inform cross-national comparisons with the United States and contribute to a larger mixed-methods study on aging- and dementia-related attitudes among healthcare professionals. The team toured LTC facilities, met with administrators and staff, and conducted qualitative interviews of health care workers on their self perceptions of aging. Qualitative analysis (n=15) focused on how working with older adults and people living with dementia shapes professionals’ perceptions of aging. Findings showed that most respondents reported shifts in how they view older adults, particularly greater recognition of autonomy, cognitive abilities, and emotional capacity. Participants highlighted the influence of exposure through family, workplace experiences, and broader social norms. When asked about their own aging, responses varied: not all professionals described personal change, but many reflected on aging through the lens of locus of control-distinguishing between modifiable factors (e.g., physical health through diet and exercise) and less controllable social or environmental influences. These insights illustrate how professional contact with aging and dementia can reshape attitudes and may inform strategies to reduce stigma and support high-quality dementia care.
Parental justice-involvement, including parental incarceration and/or supervision on parole or probation, is often associated with lasting challenges for families. This project explores the experiences of adult children with parental justice-involvement. While existing research has focused primarily on the immediate effects of parental incarceration on minor children, fewer studies have explored these experiences with adult children. Additionally limited work has looked at justice-involvement more broadly as opposed to specific parental incarceration. This study seeks to address this gap by investigating the lived experiences of adult children with justice-involved parents using semi-structured interviews. The findings will contribute to academic discourse and inform policies and practices aimed at supporting individuals affected by parental justice-involvement.
This research investigates how multilingual identity influences communication tool preferences and personal self-efficacy in global virtual teams, examining the mediating role of conflicts. Drawing on Media Richness Theory, Social Identity Theory, and Conflict Management Theory, we hypothesized that (H1) individuals speaking more languages prefer richer communication tools (video calls) over leaner channels (email); (H2) richer tool preferences reduce both task and relationship conflict; (H3) task conflict is positively related to self-efficacy while relationship conflict is negatively related to self-efficacy; and (H4) tool selection and conflicts sequentially mediate individual outcomes.Analyzing data from 2,823 students across 629 teams in the 2022 Spring X-Culture project using SPSS PROCESS, we examined ten communication scenarios. Our findings challenge the hypothesized conflict-centered framework: the direct pathway (multilingual identity → tool preferences → self-efficacy) proved significantly stronger than the conflict-mediated pathway. In “introduction” and “member missing” scenarios, multilingual identity increased preference for high-richness tools, enhancing self-efficacy directly, with conflict playing minor mediating roles. The relationship between multilingual identity and tool preferences proved context-dependent: significant positive correlations in three scenarios, non-significant correlations in five routine scenarios, and slight negative correlations in two explanatory contexts. While information-rich tool preferences consistently correlated negatively with both conflict types (especially relationship conflict), these reductions played surprisingly modest mediating roles. Both conflict types negatively impacted self-efficacy (especially task conflict), contradicting H3. This reversal occurs because virtual environments lack the non-verbal cues that help teams navigate disagreements productively.The critical exception emerged when addressing the “member missing” question: language number significantly predicted tool preferences (β=0.0530, p
