The Association of Male and Female Supervisors’ Nonverbal Immediacy and Depth of Messages on Subordinates’ Reciprocal Disclosure in San Pedro Municipal Hall

Abstract

This descriptive study associated supervisors’ nonverbal immediacy and depth of messages on subordinates’ reciprocal disclosure. It answered the general research question: “How do male and female supervisors’ nonverbal immediacy and depth of messages influence subordinates’ reciprocal disclosure?” A census of 19 department heads (13 males; 6 females) from the third and fourth hierarchical levels of San Pedro Municipal Hall (SPMH) with mean age of 50.4211 (SD = 9.2815) years and mean stay in SPMH of 15.3158 (SD = 9.22589) years formed the supervisor respondents. A total of 72 purposively and conveniently sampled subordinates under the 19 department heads (43 under male department heads; 29 under female department heads) with mean age of 40.6111 (SD = 9.67435) years and mean stay in SPMH of 13.5417 (SD = 8.51500) years formed the subordinate respondents. A total of 5 purposively and conveniently sampled subordinates under the 19 department heads served as participants for the interviews. The research instruments were divided into questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaires (SD-NI-S, SD-DM-S, RD-NI-Q, and RD-DM-Q) were pilot tested at Banco de Oro — Pacific Star and were found reliable. SD-NI-S and SD-DM-S questionnaires were administered to the 19 department head respondents. RD-NI-Q and RD-DM-Q questionnaires were administered to the 72 subordinate respondents. Meanwhile, GIS-RD was used in the interviews with the 5 subordinates to maintain consistency in the interview structure. The interviews lasted for an average of 13.25 minutes. The study found that female department heads were more nonverbally immediate than male department heads. Male department heads, as compared to female department heads, received higher reciprocal disclosure from their subordinates based on their nonverbal immediacy. Female department heads’ nonverbal immediacy had a higher influence on the subordinates’ reciprocal disclosure as compared to male department heads. Male department heads employed higher depth of messages than female department heads. Male department heads, as compared to female department heads, received more reciprocal disclosure from subordinates based on their depth of messages. Male _department heads had a higher influence on subordinates’ reciprocal disclosure in terms of their depth of messages than female department heads.