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    You are here Home » leadership

    Targets of Bully Bosses Aren't the Only Victims

    Last updated on Feb 11, 2013 by Dan McCarthy · This post may contain affiliate links

    Targets
    of Bully Bosses Aren’t the Only Victims, New UNH Research Shows
    First-Ever
    Study Shows Impact of Abusive Supervisor Extends to Victim’s Co-Workers
    DURHAM, N.H. – Abusive bosses who target employees with ridicule,
    public criticism, and the silent treatment not only have a detrimental effect
    on the employees they bully, but they negatively impact the work environment
    for the co-workers of those employees who suffer from “second-hand” or
    vicarious abusive supervision, according to new research from the University of
    New Hampshire.
    In the first ever study to investigate vicarious supervisory
    abuse, Paul Harvey, associate professor of organizational behavior at UNH, and
    his research colleagues Kenneth Harris and Raina Harris from Indiana University
    Southeast and Melissa Cast from New Mexico State University find that vicarious
    supervisory abuse is associated with job frustration, abuse of other coworkers,
    and a lack of perceived organizational support beyond the effects of the
    abusive supervisor.
    The research is presented in the Journal of Social Psychology in
    the article “An Investigation of Abusive Supervision, Vicarious AbuseSupervision, and Their Joint Impacts.”
    Abusive supervision is considered a dysfunctional type of
    leadership and includes a sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal
    behaviors toward subordinates.
    “Although the effects of abusive supervision may not be as
    physically harmful as other types of dysfunctional behavior, such as workplace
    violence or aggression, the actions are likely to leave longer-lasting wounds,
    in part, because abusive supervision can continue for a long time,” Harvey said.
    Those long-lasting wounds also are felt by the co-workers of the
    victims of bulling bosses.
    Vicarious supervisory abuse is defined as the observation or
    awareness of a supervisor abusing a co-worker. Examples of vicarious
    supervisory abuse in a workplace include an employee hearing rumors of abusive
    behavior from coworkers, reading about such behaviors in an email, or actually
    witnessing the abuse of a coworker. 
    “When vicarious abusive supervision is present, employees realize
    that the organization is allowing this negative treatment to exist, even if
    they are not experiencing it directly,” the researchers said.
    The researchers queried a sample of 233 people who work in a wide
    range of occupations in the Southeast United States. Demographically, the
    sample was 46 percent men, 86 percent white, had an average age of 42.6 years,
    had worked in their job for seven years, had worked at their company for 10
    years, and worked an average of 46 hours a week. Survey respondents were asked
    about supervisory abuse, vicarious supervisory abuse, job frustration,
    perceived organizational support, and coworker abuse. 
    The researchers found similar negative impacts of first-hand
    supervisory abuse and second-hand vicarious supervisory abuse: greater job
    frustration, tendency to abuse other coworkers, and a lack of perceived
    organizational support. In addition, the negative effects from either type of
    abuse were intensified if the coworker was a victim of both kinds of
    supervisory abuse.
    “Our research suggests that vicarious abusive supervision is as
    likely as abusive supervision to negatively affect desired outcomes, with the
    worst outcomes resulting when both vicarious abusive supervision and abusive
    supervision are present,” the researchers said. “Top management needs further
    education regarding the potential impacts of vicarious abuse supervision on employees
    to prevent and/or mitigate the effects of such abuse.”
    The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class
    public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college.
    A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public
    institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

    UNH is offering two extraordinary leadership development programs in April and the Fall of 2013:

    The UNH Next Level Executive Development Program

    The UNH Woman's Leadership Development Program
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