Recent research suggests that employees are more inclined to overlook abusive behaviour from leaders who are perceived as high performers, often rationalizing the abuse as merely “tough love.” The study, published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, involved a three-wave survey of 576 workers across various industries in the United States. These workers completed online surveys that queried them on their boss’s abusive behaviours and overall effectiveness. The results revealed that employees show less animosity towards abusive bosses if these bosses are high performers, with some employees even believing that their careers could benefit from working under a successful yet abusive leader.

Robert Lount, the lead author and management and human resources professor at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business explained that employees might find it difficult to reconcile the notion of a successful leader being abusive. As a result, they might reframe abusive behaviour as something more positive, like ‘tough love.’ For those reporting abuse, additional questions determined whether employees would label their boss as an abuser or view them as a “tough love” type of leader, described in the survey as “stern but caring,” “insensitive but nurturing,” and “rough but well-meaning.”

Findings showed that employee perceptions of their bosses’ abusive behaviour and their effectiveness influenced how they labelled their supervisors. When bosses were seen as high performers, workers were more likely to describe them as “tough love” supervisors. Conversely, when bosses were viewed as lower performers, they were more likely to be labelled as abusers. Bennett Tepper, a co-author of the study and a professor at Ohio State, suggested that employees might be looking for a silver lining, noting that while these bosses might treat their employees harshly, their intent could be to help their subordinates realize their potential.

Employees working under abusive but successful bosses reported that they didn’t like the abuse. Still, they believed it could lead to positive outcomes, such as promotions, due to their experience under a successful leader. Additionally, these employees were less likely to retaliate against high-performing abusive bosses, avoiding actions like disobedience or giving silent treatment. This dynamic of working for an abusive and successful leader was further examined in a laboratory experiment involving 168 undergraduate students, simulating an online team competition led by an MBA student.

In the lab experiment, participants received either an abusive or non-abusive message from their “team leader,” with subsequent feedback on their team’s performance influencing their evaluations of the leader. Participants who received abusive messages rated their leader as less abusive if their team performed well, suggesting that high performance could quickly reduce the likelihood of labelling a boss as abusive. Interestingly, Lount emphasized that their findings do not indicate that abusive behaviour leads to leadership success.

The study highlights how employees respond to abusive supervision when paired with success, helping to explain why some abusive bosses can maintain long careers. High performance might shield them from repercussions because their employees perceive them as merely “tough love” bosses, according to Tepper. This phenomenon illustrates how performance can sometimes overshadow and mitigate perceptions of abusive behaviour in the workplace, contributing to the complex dynamics between leaders and their subordinates.

More information: Robert B. Lount Jr. et al, “Abuser” or “Tough Love” Boss?: The moderating role of leader performance in shaping the labels employees use in response to abusive supervision, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2024.104339

Journal information: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Provided by The Ohio State University