Background <p>The multitude of adverse outcomes stemming from abusive supervision has prompted some authors to take the victimization perspective to identify its antecedents. However, research based on this perspective mainly focuses on employee provocative or passive behaviors, and answers which employees are more susceptible to abusive supervision, thereby largely overlooking the significance of employee positive behaviors for preventing abusive supervision.</p> Purpose <p>This study extends previous research by developing a mediated moderation model and examining the roles of supervisor-attributed motives in the relationship between employee helping behavior and abusive supervision.</p> Design/methodology <p>Data were collected from a two-wave survey study with a sample of 153 matched leader-employee questionnaires in China. Software Mplus7.4 was utilized to estimate our mediated moderation model using path modeling methods.</p> Findings <p>The results show that (a) employee helping behavior has a negative relationship with abusive supervision; (b) supervisor-attributed motives moderate the relationship; (c) supervisor emotional experiences (i.e., anger/gratitude) mediate the interactive effect of employee helpful behavior and supervisor-attributed motives on abusive supervision.</p> Conclusion <p>Our findings suggest that a more effective long-term strategy for employee advancement is to engage in selfless helping behavior, as supervisors’ perceptions of the motives behind such behavior significantly impact their emotional and behavioral reactions. Moreover, supervisors should refrain from any form of abusive supervision and focus on fostering positive and constructive interactions with employees. It is also recommended that supervisors take proactive steps to cultivate a culture of organizational citizenship while minimizing opportunistic behaviors among employees.</p> Clinical trial number <p>Not applicable.</p>