Compliments—voluntary and impromptu expressions of acknowledgement, approval, or praise of another’s accomplishments or behaviors—are a powerful tool leaders can use to enhance employees’ development, work engagement, and job performance. Although the positive effects of compliments on recipients’ well-being and performance are well-demonstrated, it is important to consider how leader compliments influence the broader audience (i.e., employees who witness compliments but are not the recipients). In this dissertation, I draw on social comparison theory and expectancy theory to suggest that leader compliments can both positively and negatively influence observers through the emotional experiences of inspiration and envy, respectively. Importantly, I identify observer expectancy (shaped by core self-evaluation, perceived similarity, and organizational support as individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors) and instrumentality (shaped by non-zero-sum mentality, relative leader-member exchange, and procedural justice as individual, interpersonal, and organizational factors) as two overarching boundary conditions that determine the degree to which inspiration and envy occur. Furthermore, while inspiration leads to a moving-up tendency to increase one’s own in-role and extra-role behaviors, envy leads to a pulling-down tendency aimed at harming the complimented coworker. By examining the ripple effect of leader compliments, I expand the social functions of compliments beyond the dyadic level and provide a more holistic understanding of compliments in the workplace.
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