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Abusive ManagersandVariables Impacting Retaliation

in Organizations

Pushpendra Singh

Rahul Chalisgaonkar

Ramiah Karumudi

Renju Jose

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Points to be discussed

Abusive managers

Examining aspects of abusive behavior wrt:

Personality

Interpretation

Behavior

Perceptions of Justice

Circumstances surrounding abusive behavior

Outcomes of abusive behavior

Moderators of retaliation

Conclusions and Implications for managers

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Introduction

US Postal Service 2000 reported incidents in 4 years ofabusive behavior

Employees in organizations attacked and killed

According to US Equal Employment OpportunityCommission (EEOC), retaliation claims againstemployers increased by 30%

Employees have started reacting to perceived interactionalinjustice

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Abusive Managers Use derogatory names, condescending tones, intimidation,

humiliation, yelling, ridicule and other forms of

malicious treatments (Ashforth, 1997) Use power and position to mistreat employees

Characterized as disrespectful to subordinates, rude to peers,difficult to get along with, temperamental, emotionallyunresponsive to problems

Triggers anger, despair and depression in subordinates

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Workplace Incivility Workplace incivility may be broadly defined as behavior

that is considered to be a disrespectful and inconsiderate

of others Buhler(2003) Example Employees are expected to be available 24 hours

a day, 7 days a week with computer access and cellphones that can access internet and receive emails.

There is a decrease in trust levels between employees andorganizations (Buhler, 2003)

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CircumstancesSurrounding

Abusive Behavior

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Hostile Work Environment Hostile work environments are known to exist with the

presence of an offensive or intimidating work

environment that can potentially interfere with workperformance and negatively affect an individualsworkplace performance (Greengard, 1999)

89% of the people interviewed indicated that incivility andrudeness is a serious problem and 78% agreed that the

problem has escalated over the past 10 years (Buggs,1998)

One in five employees reported being verbally harassed by amanager (Oldham, 1999)

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Harassment According to US Equal Employment Opportunity

Commission (EEOC),

Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based onrace, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/orage.

It becomes unlawful where

enduring the offensive conduct becomes a conditionof continued employment

the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create awork environment that a reasonable person wouldconsider intimidating, hostile or abusive

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Bullying Another form of uncivil behavior that can take the form of

harassment; bullying is a form of harassment that is

unwanted by the person at which it is aimed. Einarsen (1999) defined bullying as including but not

limited to repeat practices and actions clearly intended tocause offence, humiliation, repeated or enduringharassment, stress and clearly hostile or aggressive

behaviors.

Creates absenteeism, low morale, and may also contribute toincreased turnover; these factors directly affect

productivity and profits of an organization.

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Retaliation Retaliation is the desire to punish an offender for

unwarranted acts (Averill, 1982).

Objective is to make the perpetrator pay for an event thathas harmed the victim in some meaningful way(Sharlicki and Folger, 2004)

Bies and Tripp (1966) learned that individuals will seekrevenge on those who harm them

31.4% of respondents felt justified for retaliation againsttheir bosses (Beis and Tripp, 1998)

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Moderators of Retaliation

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Moderating Effect ofEmotion Fundamental Aspect of Injustice Experience- Emotional

Outcomes associated with unfairness

Study Emotions v/s Justice Theories - not thorough( Wiess, Suckkow and Cropanzo,1999 )

Emotions are characterized by Reaction to Event/Object (Frijda, 1993)

Social Phenomenon (Fischer and Tangney, 1995)

Emotions characterized as Positive & Negative Inward Focussed and Outward Focussed

Outward-focused negative emotions - Desire for revenge directed action against Perpretator. (Allred, 1999, Averill, 1982,Weiner, 1965 )

Triggered Negative Emotions- Motivation for Retaliation Supervisor-Employee Situations

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Moderating Effect ofPersonality

Retaliation 2 Types

Overt Retaliation

Sabotage, Theft and Assault

No Direct Impact- Functioning of Organization

Covert Retaliation

Psychological Withdrawal, Resistance, and Withdrawal ofCitizenship Behaviors

Personality A Predictor Responsiveness to Unfairness(Brockner, 1988; Folger and Skarlicki, 1998)

Personality Factors Environment Behavior (SocialCognitive View)(Shoda and Mischel, 1993)

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Moderating Effect ofPersonality (Contd.)

Two Personality Factors -Negative Affinity(NA) &Agreeableness

High NA - Discomfort, Distress and Dissatisfaction High Agreeableness - Sociable, Cooperative and Empathetic

High Self Determination Less Victimized (Aquino, Grover, Murray andAllen, 1999)

Motivated to Exercise Control on Environment- Even by Retaliation

Assertive in Defending Self- Against Mistreatment

Minimal Self-Determination Lack Confidence to influenceEnvironment

Make Themselves Target of Aggressive Behavior

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Perceptions of ProceduralJustice and Retaliation

Procedural Justice- Fairness of Companies FormalProcedures ( Leventhal et al.1980)

Fair Procedures-Decision Making Process Consistency, Accuracy, Bias Suppression and Ethics

Procedures deemed Unfair-Destructive Response ( Cropanzano and Folger, 1989)

Anger and Resentment- Entice Retaliation

Procedural Justice Evaluation-Group Identity & Perceptions ofRespect

Supervisors - Management Group

Subordinates - Organizational Subgroup

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Perceptions of InteractionalJustice

Interactional Justice - Focuses on Quality of InterpersonalTreatment- Participation in Organizational Procedures(Bies,

1966) Actions Displaying Social Sensitivity-

Treating Employees with Respect and Dignity

Listening to Subordinate Concerns

Demonstrate Empathy for Individuals

Provide Explanation for Unfavorable Decisions

Referent Cognitions Theory - Individuals refers to cognitiveStandards-to evaluate treatment and rewards based uponreferent others, past events and stated underlying promises(Folger, 1987)

2 Factors Enticing Negative Response from Employees Unfavorable Outcomes that Trigger Arousal

Mistreatments on the Job

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Power Distance Power Distance- Belief in Culture-Appropriate Relationship

between Authorities and Subordinates

Influences Employee Perception of Right to RespectfulTreatment- Key Component of Fairness Evaluation(Heur, Bluementhal, Douglas and Weinblatt, 1999)

High Power distance culture - Accept Stronger HeirarchicalStructures - Support differentials between Managers andSubordinates-Reduces Fair Treatment Expectation (Bond, Wan,Leung and Giacalone, 1985)

Eg: In US Individuals may be tolerant of Poor Treatment ofSubordinates-(High Power Distance)- (Blader, Changa, Tyke,2002)

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Retaliation and ModeratingEffects of Negative

Reciprocity Beliefs

Reciprocity-Something that generates obligation to return anequivalent gesture

Individuals guided by an eye for an eye principle

For Mistreatment-Consider Retaliation as AcceptableBehavior

Research Study - Negative Reciprocity- Strengthened-Relationship between Abusive Supervision and SupervisorDirected Deviance (Mitchell and Ambrose, 2008)

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Conclusions and Implicationsfor Managers

Companies Implemented Corporate Etiquette

Encourage Politeness at Workplace

Appreciate and Respect Rights of Others Subordinates & Co-workers

Easy Access to anyone through Technology- Email & Instant Messaging-Increased Uncivil Behavior- Erroneously assuming Anonymity

Spiraling Effect- Abused employees tend to become Abusive

Supervisors in future Clear Documentation Code of Conduct- To Support treatment of

Employees

Managers should understand- Incivility is a precursor to Violence

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References EEOC. Harassment. Equal Opportunity Employment

Commission. http://www.eeoc.gov/types/harassment.html

Buhler, Patricia M(April 2003). Workplace civility: has it fallenby the wayside? Supervision, (64)4, 20-22. Retrieved fromABI/INFORM Complete Database

Anderson L and Pearson C(1999). Tit for tat? The SpiralingEffect of Incivility in the Workplace

http://www.eeoc.gov/types/harassment.htmlhttp://www.eeoc.gov/types/harassment.html

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Thank You!!