The Unintentional Nonconformist: Habits Promote Resistance to Social influence

A growing body of the literature on interpersonal listening has revealed numerous positive outcomes in the workplace. For example, employees wholisten well are perceived as leaders, perform better at work, gain trust, and succeed in negotiations, among other benefits. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the potential negative consequences of listening in the workplace, especially when it is effortful and challenging. This study explored the potential relationship between teachers listening to their pupils and burnout. Conducted in 2024, this field study involved 106 middle and high school teachers from Israel. We used multiple regression analysis to control for well-known predictors of job burnout: motivation, job satisfaction, and competence. The results indicated that teachers’ perception of their listening quality significantly and positively predicted job burnout, even whenaccounting for these variables as well as seniority and school-type; 0.24 ≤ βs ≤ 0.36. This study highlights the potential negative consequences of workplace listening and contributes to the less explored aspect of listening in the literature with important implications for work-related outcomes.

A live discussion experiment was designed to test the effects of highly empathic (vs. moderately empathic) listening on solitude experiences. Participants were assigned to three conditions in which they: 1) Discussed a negative personal experience with a confederate (ostensibly another participant) exhibiting highly empathic listening; 2) Discussed an experience with a confederate exhibiting moderately empathic listening; or, 3) Engaged in a positive reframing exercise. Building on previous listening theory (Weinstein et al., 2022) and research (Itzchakov & Weinstein, 2021; Itzchakov, Weinstein, et al., 2022). We then assessed the two posited mechanisms of autonomy and relatedness and tested the expectations to be in solitude. All participants were instructed to spend ten minutes alone, phones off, and distractions stored away. While highly empathic listening enhanced participants’ (i.e. speakers) autonomy and relatedness need satisfaction compared to the other two conditions and predicted initial increases in self- and social-connection, it did not subsequently improve solitude experiences, with no direct effects found predicting self-connection, peaceful affect, loneliness, or self-insight. Indirect effects linked empathic listening to self-connection and self-insight through autonomy satisfaction. While empathic listening fosters immediate psychological need satisfaction in social contexts, deeper listening interventions may be necessary to improve subsequent solitude periods.