Context Matters: The Implications of Workplace Envy Across Contexts

The interpersonal and social aspects of modern work have made envy – the painful emotion experienced at work when one lacks and desires one or more work others’ superior qualities, achievements, or possessions – a practical phenomenon to study in organizational science. With scholarly interest in envy on the rise, this symposium introduces fresh perspectives and further advances scholarly discussion regarding the nature of envy by showcasing four cutting-edge studies. In particular, these studies provide new insights regarding envy, its outcomes, and factors influencing these outcomes across different contexts (e.g., leadership, job search, different cultures), for different targets (the envier, the envied, and the organization), and using diverse methodological approaches (e.g., meta-analysis, experiencing sampling). Attendees will thus learn current directions in workplace envy research from researchers with expertise in the topic area. Following the presentations, Dr. Yochi Cohen-Charash will synthesize the papers in the symposium and lead an interactive discussion on the current state of envy research. As envy is commonly experienced as an undesirable emotion, our symposium seeks to offer a comprehensive understanding of workplace envy, its various outcomes (both the “good” and the “bad”), and strategies to manage envy in ways that can benefit employees and organizations alike, in line with the Academy of Management 2022 theme of “Creating a Better World Together”. The Dark Side of Envy: Implications of Job Search Envy on Health Presenter: Jaewoo Kim; U. of Houston Presenter: Leanne Atwater; U. of Houston Presenter: Jamie Belinne; U. of Houston Exploring Envy as a Mediator between LMX Quality and Work Outcomes Presenter: Hakan Ozcelik; California State U. Sacramento The Bright- and Dark-Side Effects of the Daily Perception of Being Envied by Coworkers Presenter: Harshad Girish Puranik; U. of Illinois at Chicago Presenter: Kathleen Keeler; Ohio State U. Presenter: Haoying Xu; U. of Illinois at Chicago Presenter: Siyi Tao; U. of Illinois at Chicago Envy Beyond Borders: A Meta-Analysis of National Culture and Reactions to Envy Presenter: Manuel F. Gonzalez; Seton Hall U. Presenter: Yochi Cohen-Charash; Baruch College & The Graduate Center, CUNY Presenter: Soohyun Lee; William Paterson U. Presenter: Kim Story Johnson; - Presenter: Paul E. Spector; U. of South Florida