A study conducted by the UBC Sauder School of Business reveals that employees’ perceptions of their bosses’ intentions behind abusive behaviour can lead to varying emotional responses, such as anger or guilt, influencing their reactions to such supervision differently.

Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple, was renowned for his stringent leadership style. He often pushed his employees to their limits to meet the company’s ambitious objectives. Despite the prevalent belief among many aspiring leaders in the effectiveness of the “tough love” approach, recent research from UBC Sauder suggests that, although abusive leadership might be aimed at elevating employees’ performance, it can result in significant negative consequences over time.

Abusive supervision, characterized by actions like yelling at employees, ignoring them, or belittling them in front of colleagues, has been consistently associated with psychological distress, higher employee turnover, and reduced performance. However, the study “The Whiplash Effect: The (Moderating) Role of Attributed Motives in Emotional and Behavioral Reactions to Abusive Supervision,” explored whether the motivation behind a supervisor’s abusive behaviour could lead to different employee responses.

The research comprised three separate studies conducted across three continents. In the first study, involving 1,000 soldiers and officers in the Chinese military, participants reported on their supervisory experiences, emotions, and subsequent reactions. The second study was a lab experiment with 156 participants at a major American university, simulating different supervisory styles within a consulting firm while hinting at the supervisors’ motives. Participants could engage in deviant acts against their supervisor or display positive organizational citizenship behaviours (OCBs), such as helping colleagues or participating in workplace charity initiatives. The third study saw 325 employees and supervisors at a Swedish luxury car manufacturer complete daily surveys over three weeks, documenting experiences of abusive supervision, emotions felt, and observations of OCBs and deviant behaviours.

Findings across all studies indicated that employees tend to feel anger when they perceive their supervisors’ abuse as intended to harm them. Conversely, when they believe the abuse aims to improve performance, they are more likely to experience guilt. This differentiation in emotional response significantly influences their behaviour, leading to either an increase in negative actions or a propensity towards positive, pro-social behaviours in the workplace.

Lingtao Yu, Assistant Professor at UBC Sauder and one of the study’s authors, draws parallels between these findings and the dynamic depicted in the film “Whiplash,” which portrays an abusive teacher-student relationship driven by the desire to achieve greatness. The study suggests that while employees may react negatively to perceived malintent by engaging in destructive behaviours, those who see their supervisor’s actions as motivational attempts to bridge performance gaps are likely to take responsibility and act in ways that aim to mend the supervisor-employee relationship.

Despite occasional short-term gains from such supervision, the study underscores the long-term ineffectiveness and potential costs associated with abusive leadership, including legal expenses, healthcare costs, and lost productivity. Professor Yu emphasizes the importance of mindful leadership and the availability of alternative, more constructive methods to enhance employee performance, advising against adopting abusive leadership practices.

More information: Yu, L. et al, The whiplash effect: The (moderating) role of attributed motives in emotional and behavioral reactions to abusive supervision, Journal of Applied Psychology. DOI: 10.1037/apl0000810

Journal information: Journal of Applied Psychology Provided by The University of British Columbia