Antecedents and Leadership Consequences of Supervisors’ Employee-directed Objectification

Objectification (i.e., perceiving others as dehumanized instruments for goal attainment) is highly prevalent in supervisor-employee interactions. Nevertheless, little is known about (a) why some supervisors objectify their employees to a greater extent than others and (b) how such objectification manifests in a supervisor’s leadership behavior. We draw from theory and research on self-concepts and role identities to address these questions. We propose that the way supervisors view themselves in relation to others (i.e., their self-concept) is an important antecedent of their employee-directed objectification. Further, we hypothesize that such objectification has the capacity to evoke an autocratic leadership style, although this linkage will hinge on supervisors’ identification with their leader role. Using a sample of 65 supervisors and 266 of their employees, we found that supervisors’ individual (but not relational or collective) self-concept was positively related to their employee-directed objectification. Moreover, supervisors’ objectification was positively related to their autocratic leadership behavior, but only among those who strongly identified with their leader role. These results advance our theoretical understanding of objectification in leadership relations, providing new insights into the antecedents, consequences, and boundary conditions associated with supervisors’ employee-directed objectification.