Study
finds advantages to giving it right back
Ohio State University, Science
Daily
In a result that surprised researchers, a new study found that
employees who had hostile bosses were better off on several measures if they
returned the hostility.
The study found that employees felt less like victims when they
retaliated against their bad bosses and as a result experienced less psychological
distress, more job satisfaction and more commitment to their employer.
"The best situation is certainly when there is no
hostility. But if your boss is hostile, there appears to be benefits to
reciprocating. Employees felt better about themselves because they didn't just
sit back and take the abuse."
Hostile bosses were ones who did things like yell at, ridicule
and intimidate their workers.
Employees who returned hostility did it by ignoring their boss,
acting like they didn't know what their bosses were talking about, and giving
just half-hearted effort.
"These are things that bosses don't like and that fit the
definition of hostility, but in a passive-aggressive form," Tepper said.
"I expect that you don't have too many employees yelling
and screaming at their bosses."
The research, which was recently published online in the journal Personnel
Psychology, involved data from two related studies that the researchers
conducted.
The first study included 169 people who completed two surveys by
mail, seven months apart.
In the first survey, the respondents completed a 15-item measure
of supervisor hostility developed by Tepper in 2000. It asked participants to
rate how often their supervisors did things like ridiculing them and telling
them that their "thoughts and feelings are stupid."
The participants reported how often they retaliated by doing
things like ignoring their supervisor.
Seven months later, the same respondents completed measures of
job satisfaction, commitment to their employer, psychological distress and
negative feelings.
Results showed that when bosses were hostile - but employees
didn't retaliate - the workers had higher levels of psychological distress,
less satisfaction with their jobs and less commitment to their employer.
However, those employees who returned the hostility didn't see
those negative consequences, Tepper said.
But that study left unanswered the questions of why employees
felt better if they returned their bosses' hostility and whether retaliation
hurt their careers. As a result, the researchers conducted a second study,
which involved an online survey of 371 people from across the country who were
surveyed three times, each three weeks apart.
The first survey asked respondents many of the same questions as
the first study. The second survey asked questions designed to test if the
employees felt like a victim in their relationship with their boss.
In addition to other questions, the third survey asked employees
about career outcomes, such as whether they had been promoted and whether they
were meeting their income goals.
Results showed that employees who turned the hostility back on
their bosses were less likely to identify themselves as victims - and were then
less likely to report psychological distress and more likely to be satisfied
with and committed to their jobs.
Of course, fighting against your boss may seem like a risky
career move. "In this second study, we wanted to see if employees who
retaliated against their bosses also reported that their career was damaged by
their actions," Tepper said. "But in our survey anyway, employees
didn't believe their actions hurt their career."
How can returning hostility not only help employees avoid
psychological distress, but also allow them to remain committed to their
employer and be more satisfied with their jobs?
Although this study didn't examine that issue directly, Tepper
said he believes employees who fight back may have the admiration and respect
of co-workers.
"There is a norm of reciprocity in our society. We have
respect for someone who fights back, who doesn't just sit back and take abuse.
Having the respect of co-workers may help employees feel more committed to
their organization and happy about their job."
Tepper said the message from these findings shouldn't be that
employees should automatically retaliate against a horrible boss.
"The real answer is to get rid of hostile bosses," he
said. "And there may be other responses to hostile bosses that may be more
beneficial. We need to test other coping strategies."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Ohio State University. The original article was written by Jeff
Grabmeier. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Bennett J. Tepper, Marie S. Mitchell, Dana L. Haggard, Ho Kwong
Kwan, Heeman Park. On the Exchange of Hostility with Supervisors: An
Examination of Self-Enhancing and Self-Defeating Perspectives. Personnel
Psychology, 2014; DOI:10.1111/peps.12094
Cite This Page:
Ohio State University. "Hostile boss? Study finds
advantages to giving it right back." Science
Daily, 20 January 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150120085607.htm>.
