9/17/2016

Dealingwithanabusiveboss?Here'swhatnottodo:EBSCOhost

INDIANINSTOF
TECHNOLOGY,
KHARAGPUR

Title: Dealingwithanabusiveboss?Here'swhatnottodo.By:JenaMcGregor,
WashingtonPost,The,10/17/2015
Database: RegionalBusinessNews
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AmericanAccent

Whilemoreandmoreattentionhasbeengiventotheeffectofbadsupervisorsatworklousy
managerscanmakeyousickandruinyourfamilylifetherehasbeenlessfocusonhowemployees'
responsetothatbadbehaviorhelpsorhurtsthesituation.Recentresearch,however,showsthat
yourreactiontoaninsultingorbelittlingbosscan,overtime,makethingsworse.
AforthcomingpaperintheJournalofAppliedPsychologysurveyednearly250employeesina
varietyoforganizationsoverasixmonthperiodabouttheirbosses'behaviorandtheirown.The
researchersfoundthattryingtoavoidbosseswhohadbehavedpoorly,aswellasretaliatingagainst
theirabusiveacts,createdaviciouscyclethatwaslinkedtosubsequentmistreatment.
That'snottoosurprising.Ifyoujabatabosswhotreatsyoupoorly,itmakessensethatmore
ridiculemightcomeyourway.
Buttheresearchersalsofoundsomethingtheydidn'texpect.Theyhadpredictedthatactsof
compassionandempathyassistingbadbossesbygoingaboveandbeyond,helpingwithheavy
workloadsevenwhennotaskedwouldhelplessenfuturerudeorabusivebehavior.
Butthestudyfoundthatwasn'ttrue."Abusivesupervisorsdidn'trespondtofollowersbeingpositive
andcompassionate,anddoingthingstobesupportive,"saidCharliceHurst,anassistantprofessorat
NotreDame'sMendozaCollegeofBusiness,whowasacoauthoronthepaper.Theirfindings,she
said,seemto"clashwithcommonsense."
Inthepaper,theresearcherssayoneexplanationmaybethatbossesjustseeallthatextraworkas
partofthejob,somethingacademicsrefertoas"organizationalcitizenship,"andthereforedon't
feeltheneedtotreattheiremployeesanybetterbecauseofthoseefforts.
Soifavoidingorlashingoutatyourbossislinkedwithmorebadbehaviorandifcompassionand
assistancedolittletohelpwhatshouldemployeesdotodealwiththeirveryownBillLumberghor
MontgomeryBurns?
Hurstsaystheirpaperdoesn'tanswerthatquestionsofar,theyhavediscoveredonlywhatnotto
do."Ithinkcompanieshavetocreatecultureswhereabusivesupervisorsarenotacceptable,and
theyhavetoimplementpoliciesforemployeestoreportbeingbullied,"shesaid."You'reonlygoing
tomakeyoursituationworseifyoutrytoretaliateortrytowithdraworhunkerdown."
Perhaps.Whileitmaynotimprovetheboss'sbehaviorifworkersretaliateinpassiveaggressive
ways,suchasignoringthebossordoinghalfheartedwork,researchfromearlierthisyearshows
thatsuchanapproachhasatleastoneupside:employeessayitmadethemfeelbetter.Thosewho
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9/17/2016

Dealingwithanabusiveboss?Here'swhatnottodo:EBSCOhost

stoodupforthemselveswerelesslikelytoselfidentifyasvictims,lessapttoreportpsychological
distressandmorelikelytobecommittedtotheirjobs.

jena.mcgregor@washpost.com

Source:WashingtonPost,The,10/17/2015
Item:wapo.ed54c07a745e11e59cbb790369643cf9

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