Surviving in Temporary Aircrew Workplaces: Coping With Intermittent Abusive Supervision in Dynamic Supervisor-Subordinate Relationships

This study explores how victims of intermittent abusive supervision cope in the context of temporary professional teams where supervisor-subordinate relationships are transient and constantly shifting. Employing critical incident interviews with 23 non-management aircrew and using thematic data analysis, this study revealed that transient leader-member exchanges make supervisory abusive behaviors less enduring and more predictable. This provides opportunities to mitigate/eliminate workplace stressors through prevention strategies, including ingratiation, localization, withdrawing shifts, and seeking instrumental support. The study identifies victim coping tactics with different foci in three phases: pre-occurrence, proceeding, and post-occurrence. Our research extends Lazarus and Folkman's theory of stress, appraisal, and coping, developing a theoretical framework for victims' appraisal and coping mechanisms of abusive supervision in temporary working contexts. It offers evidence-based recommendations for HR practitioners to formulate policies addressing the detrimental effects of abusive supervision. This is particularly significant in industries like aviation or other ad-hoc sectors employing flexible membership.