Israel: A land of contrasts - the contribution of attachment orientation, gender and ethical climate in the workplace to abusive supervision

This chapter discusses abusive supervision in the context of Israeli culture, reviewed findings of international as well as local research, and described study in this field in an Israeli organisation in the mental healthcare sector. The chapter depicts the characteristics of Israeli life and culture, while focusing on values and norms relevant to the workplace including low power distance and a typically suspicious view of authority. It describes research concerning abusive supervision around the world and in Israel. It also describes study conducted in Israel exploring the contribution of attachment orientations, gender, and ethical climate to abusive supervision in a mental healthcare organisation. The findings are discussed at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organisational levels in the context of Israeli culture, values, and norms relevant to the healthcare sector. Gender and leadership style, findings reveal that female leaders tended to be more democratic, sharing, and caring, as opposed to male leaders whose styles tended to be more centralistic and autocratic.