How supervisor bottom-line mentality influences employee expediency: a test of appraisal theory of emotion

Purpose Drawing on the appraisal theory of emotion (ATE), this paper aims to develop a moderated mediation model that links supervisor bottom-line mentality (BLM) to employee expediency by conceiving workplace anxiety as a mediator and relational psychological contract as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a survey research design and a quantitative deductive approach guided by a positivist research philosophy. In Study 1, the authors gathered two-wave survey data from a sample of 209 employees in China. In Study 2, the authors also collected 2-wave survey data from 265 full-time employees across numerous industries through the Credamo platform in China. The authors adopted the PROCESS macro for SPSS to analyze the data. Findings The results from both studies showed that workplace anxiety played a mediating role in the relationship between supervisor BLM and employee expediency. Relational psychological contract moderated this relationship, such that high (versus low) relational psychological contract attenuated the association between workplace anxiety and employee expediency. Originality/value Utilizing ATE, this study explores the emotional mechanism and the boundary conditions in the relationship between supervisor BLM and employee expediency. The findings contribute to our understanding of the process of employee expediency.