Abstract:

Destructive leadership has been examined through the behavioural manifestations and negative employee outcomes, with limited attention to the cognitive processes that enable employees to remain functional under sustained adversity. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory, this qualitative study investigates how employees cognitively self‑regulate their engagement with destructive leaders to cope with their hurts. Semi‑structured interviews with 26 employees in SMEs revealed that coping is not primarily emotional or behavioural but reflects a cognitive‑regulatory process centred on cognitive reframing. Specifically, employees reinterpret harmful leadership behaviour to reduce its psychological authority, stabilise emotion, and regulate deliberate action. Thematic analysis identified three core themes, including cognitive appraisal disruption, cognitive reframing, and behavioural regulation supported by fourteen sub‑themes that together map a recurring self‑regulation process. Through reframing, employees regain interpretive control, enabling strategies such as boundary‑setting, selective compliance, and planned disengagement. The study advances destructive leadership research by highlighting the cognitive mechanisms that underpin employee resilience and functioning under destructive leadership.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Organisational Psychology

Keywords: Employee Health, Safety and Well Being at Work    ;Employee Attitudes and Motivations   ;Organizational Misbehaviour    ;Positive Organisational Psychology    ;Cognition in organisations    ;Evolutionary psychology and organisations   

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Dr. Safoora Pitsi