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The economic cost of mismanagement is critical. Gallup estimates that roughly $1 trillion is lost annually due to unrealized productivity and reduced employee engagement in the United States. A few of these economic losses are due to fairly benign aspects corresponding to inadequate training or outdated management practices. But the non-trivial part can probably be attributed to a selected type of toxic leadership.
It’s named abuse of surveillance — a term used to describe leaders who frequently engage in hostile behavior towards their employees, including tantrums, public ridicule, and unwarranted blame or criticism. Tests estimates that abusive bosses cost American employers $23.8 billion a yr, which should come as no surprise as victims of workplace abuse often report increased emotional distress, burnout and other health issues.
As well as to such physiological and psychosomatic problems, abusive bosses threaten their victims’ ability to form and maintain meaningful relationships at work. For instance, research shows that victims of workplace abuse can internalize abuse and blame for his performance, which can lead abused employees to consider that others will interpret the abuse as proof that they should not value being friends with.
Supporting this concept, recent tests shows that employees who’re victims of abuse may worry about whether or not they are relationally precious (trustworthy, likeable, respected) in the eyes of others and can work hard to remain in the good graces of their colleagues.
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Since constructing and maintaining positive social relationships at work is critical to each the well-being and productivity of all employees, it is vital to understand how to deal with the potential social harm that may come from an abusive boss.
Try to understand why abuse occurs
When you find yourself the goal of somebody’s anger and hostility, especially from those in power, your first instinct could also be to look inward and consider whether you’ve any responsibility in your mistreatment.
This isn’t necessarily bad practice. These types of honest, self-reflection are essential for maintaining positive social relationships. Nonetheless, sometimes bad treatment is unjustified. In these cases, it could actually be essential to understand why abuse has occurred.
For instance, while leadership abuses could also be habitual, sometimes leaders engage in such behaviors impulsively due to breakdowns in self-regulation. So things like poor sleep quality or the each day demands that come with it dealing with customers it could actually cause leaders to mindlessly attack their employees.
While this doesn’t excuse their behavior, it could actually provide context as to why the behavior occurred, whether it is probably going to occur again, and whether trying to save the relationship is feasible or worthwhile. In spite of everything, when leaders impulsively engage in abuse, they could feel more guilty and work to repair the relationship with the abused worker.
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Watch out not to perpetuate a cycle of abuse
Sometimes it is feasible and price trying to save the relationship with an aggressive boss. Nonetheless, it will be important to realize that such attempts can even backfire and ultimately perpetuate the abuse cycle—especially when the leader’s abuse is habitual or an expression of a hidden toxic personality.
One recent test published in Management Journal found that abused employees who valued positive interpersonal relationships at work became concerned about their self-image and sought to protect it through acts of kindness and ingratiation. Particularly, the mistreated employees they studied tried to display their value to their co-workers by giving them support or helping them with their job tasks, they usually tried to win the favor of their leader with compliments and flattery.
While this behavior may reflect victims’ attempts to mend their relationship with their abusive leader, the authors caution that this will likely inadvertently perpetuate the cycle of abuse, as it might signal to the leader that their aggressive behavior is leading to positive outcomes.
The study states: “While we fully recognize the many and varied the reason why some people tolerate abusive relationships at work (job insecurity, financial strain, lack of other options, etc.), we encourage those that experience workplace abuse to consider taking actions to stop abuses, if in any respect possible, even when it signifies that the popularity of their workplace may suffer.”
Such actions may include discussing the matter with your leaders’ supervisor, submitting a proper criticism to HR, requesting a transfer to one other department, or, if all else fails, looking for employment elsewhere.
As the authors note, “Paying more attention to the abuse they experience is usually a difficult step, however it could also be the only way to stop the cycle of abuse.”