Abstract
Purpose
Developmental psychology research finds that when children and adolescents engage in excessive discussion of problems with friends, a phenomenon termed “co-rumination,” they experience trade-offs between negative adjustment outcomes (e.g., depression), but better friendship quality. This study examines the possibility that adults in the workplace engage in co-rumination about workplace problems, and that co-rumination, gender, and the presence of abusive supervision influence both positive and negative individual outcomes.
Design/Methodology
A sample of 147 adults ranging in age and occupation completed a questionnaire assessing co-rumination, abusive supervision, and workplace outcomes.
Findings
Results suggested that women engage in more co-rumination than men, and that abusive supervision exacerbates its negative effects for women. In contrast, for men experiencing high abusive supervision, co-rumination was associated with reduced negative effects. However, under low abusive supervision, co-rumination had no significant effect on any outcome variable for women, but was related to negative outcomes for men.
Implications
This study suggests that co-rumination is useful for understanding different types of social support in workplace contexts, and in particular, how men and women might differ in social support seeking. Co-rumination might prove useful for reconciling the somewhat mixed results regarding social support in helping individuals cope with workplace problems.
Originality/Value
This study is the first to examine co-rumination in working adults. It provides insight into how the interaction among co-rumination, gender, and exposure to stress (e.g., abusive supervision) influence both positive and negative individual outcomes.
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Appendix
Appendix
Co-Rumination at Work Scale
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1.
When I have a problem at work, we talk to each other about it for a long time.
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2.
If I have a problem at work, we will spend our time together talking about it, no matter what else we could do instead.
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3.
When my friend has a problem, I always try really hard to keep my friend talking about it.
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4.
When I have a problem, my friend always tries to get me to tell every detail about what happened.
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5.
When we talk about a problem that I have at work we will talk about every part of the problem over and over.
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6.
When we talk about a problem that I have at work we talk a lot about the problem in order to understand why it happened.
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7.
When we talk about a problem that I have at work we talk a lot about all the different bad things that might happen because of the problem.
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8.
When we talk about a problem that I have at work, we try to figure out everything about the problem, even if there are parts that we might never understand.
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9.
When we talk about a problem that I have at work we spend a long time talking about how sad or mad I feel.
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Haggard, D.L., Robert, C. & Rose, A.J. Co-Rumination in the Workplace: Adjustment Trade-offs for Men and Women Who Engage in Excessive Discussions of Workplace Problems. J Bus Psychol 26, 27–40 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9169-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9169-2