Abusive Managers and Variables Impacting Retaliation in Organizations

Pushpendra Singh Rahul Chalisgaonkar Ramiah Karumudi Renju Jose

Point s t o 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

Int roduct ion

US Postal Service 2000 reported incidents in 4 years of abusive behavior Employees in organizations attacked and killed According to US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation claims against employers increased by 30% Employees have started reacting to perceived interactional injustice

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, emotionally unresponsive to problems Triggers anger, despair and depression in subordinates

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 cell phones that can access internet and receive emails. There is a decrease in trust levels between employees and organizations (Buhler, 2003)

Circumstances Surrounding Abusive Behavior

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 work performance and negatively affect an individuals workplace performance (Greengard, 1999) 89% of the people interviewed indicated that incivility and rudeness 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 a manager (Oldham, 1999)

Harassment
According to US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/or age. It becomes unlawful where enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive

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 to cause offence, humiliation, repeated or enduring harassment, stress and clearly hostile or aggressive behaviors. Creates absenteeism, low morale, and may also contribute to increased turnover; these factors directly affect productivity and profits of an organization.

Retaliation
Retaliation is the desire to punish an offender for unwarranted acts (Averill, 1982). Objective is to make the perpetrator pay for an event that has harmed the victim in some meaningful way (Sharlicki and Folger, 2004) Bies and Tripp (1966) learned that individuals will seek revenge on those who harm them 31.4% of respondents felt justified for retaliation against their bosses (Beis and Tripp, 1998)

Moderators of Retaliation

Moderating Effect of Emotion of Injustice Experience- Emotional Fundamental Aspect

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

Moderating Effect of Personality Retaliation 2 Types

Overt Retaliation
Sabotage, Theft and Assault No Direct Impact- Functioning of Organization

Covert Retaliation
Psychological Withdrawal, Resistance, and Withdrawal of Citizenship Behaviors

Personality A Predictor Responsiveness to Unfairness

(Brockner, 1988; Folger and Skarlicki, 1998)

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

Moderating Effect of Personality (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 and Allen, 1999)
Motivated to Exercise Control on Environment- Even by Retaliation Assertive in Defending Self- Against Mistreatment

Minimal Self-Determination Lack Confidence to influence Environment

Make Themselves Target of Aggressive Behavior

Perceptions of Procedural Justice Fairness of Companies Formal and Retaliation Procedural Justice Consistency, Accuracy, Bias Suppression and Ethics

Procedures ( Leventhal et al.1980) Fair Procedures-Decision Making Process Procedures deemed Unfair-Destructive Response

( Cropanzano and Folger, 1989) Anger and Resentment- Entice Retaliation

Procedural Justice Evaluation-Group Identity & Perceptions of

Respect
Supervisors - Management Group Subordinates - Organizational Subgroup

Perceptions of Interactional Justice of Interpersonal Interactional Justice - Focuses on Quality

Treatment- Participation in Organizational Procedures (Bies,
1966) Treating Employees with Respect and Dignity Listening to Subordinate Concerns Demonstrate Empathy for Individuals Provide Explanation for Unfavorable Decisions

Actions Displaying Social Sensitivity-

Referent Cognitions Theory - Individuals refers to cognitive

Standards-to evaluate treatment and rewards based upon referent others, past events and stated underlying promises
(Folger, 1987)
Unfavorable Outcomes that Trigger Arousal Mistreatments on the Job

2 Factors Enticing Negative Response from Employees

Power Distance
Power Distance- Belief in Culture-Appropriate Relationship
between Authorities and Subordinates Influences Employee Perception of Right to Respectful Treatment- Key Component of Fairness Evaluation
(Heur, Bluementhal, Douglas and Weinblatt, 1999)

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

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

Retaliation and Moderating Effects of Negative Reciprocity Beliefs

For Mistreatment-Consider Retaliation as Acceptable Behavior

Reciprocity-Something that generates obligation to return an equivalent gesture Individuals guided by an eye for an eye principle Research Study - Negative Reciprocity- StrengthenedRelationship between Abusive Supervision and Supervisor Directed Deviance (Mitchell and Ambrose, 2008)

Conclusions and Implications for Managers Companies Implemented Corporate Etiquette

Encourage Politeness at Workplace Appreciate and Respect Rights of Others Subordinates & Coworkers Easy Access to anyone through Technology- Email & Instant MessagingIncreased 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

References
EEOC. Harassment. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. http://www.eeoc.gov/types/harassment.html Buhler, Patricia M(April 2003). Workplace civility: has it fallen by the wayside? Supervision, (64)4, 20-22. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Complete Database Anderson L and Pearson C(1999). Tit for tat? The Spiraling Effect of Incivility in the Workplace

Thank You!!