Social Undermining and Interpersonal Rumination among Employees: The Mediating Role of Being the Subject of Envy and the Moderating Role of Social Support

Abstract

Rumination is a common problem and is associated with reduced psychological well-being. However, little is known about how rumination in the workplace is affected by interpersonal relationships. We propose that negative workplace behavior could serve as a potential influencing factor for rumination. Therefore, the current study constructed a multilevel moderated mediation model to investigate the relationship between workplace unit social undermining and interpersonal rumination. We also examined whether unit social support moderated that relationship and whether being the subject of envy mediated that relationship. Survey data were collected from 630 employees in China. The results indicate that: (1) a high level of unit social undermining by either a supervisor or co-workers has a significant positive influence on interpersonal rumination; (2) being the subject of envy exerts a mediating effect between unit supervisor social undermining and interpersonal rumination, as well as between unit co-worker social undermining and interpersonal rumination; and (3) unit social support moderates the associations between unit supervisor/co-worker social undermining and interpersonal rumination. These findings extend the research on rumination to the field of management and interpersonal relationships and emphasize the potential mechanisms of rumination, providing significant guidance for reducing staff rumination and improving psychological well-being.