ABSTRACT
This chapter develops a model of abusive supervision that considers contextual antecedents of abusive supervision from multiple levels of analysis, the processes by which these variables are related to abusive supervision and ultimately how these variables are related to subordinates' work-family conflict. The model considers what we feel is a particularly relevant set of human resource management practices known as high performance work systems, which are bundles of mutually reinforcing human resource (HR) practices intended to increase employee involvement in organizational decisions and their organizational commitment. High performance work systems (HPWS) are particularly relevant to abusive supervision and work-family conflict, given the growing body of work that suggests HPWS are related to work intensification and job stress. The increased job stress associated with HPWS relates to the higher levels of workplace incivility climate, that is, shared perceptions across organizational members that acts of workplace incivility are common.
