Having or being a Bullying boss can reduce the productivity of an employee force them to take longer breaks or come in late without notice. A recent study led by researchers from the Portland State University in Oregon, US, showed that a bullying boss can decrease “organizational citizenship behavior”, or the voluntary extras one does that are not part of the job responsibilities.
On the other hand, he/she increases “counterproductive work behavior”, such as sabotage at work, coming into work late, taking longer-than-allowed breaks, doing tasks incorrectly or withholding effort, all of which can affect the team and co-workers. The findings highlight the consequences of abusive supervision, which is becoming increasingly common in workplaces. The study, published in the Journal of Management, attributes negative work behavior to either perception of injustice or work stress. In response to perceptions of injustice, the employees are more likely to purposely withhold from the unpaid extras that help the organization, like helping co-workers with problems or attending meetings that are not mandatory.
Having an abusive boss can also lead to work stress, which reduces an employee’s ability to control negative behavior or contribute to the organization in a positive way. Stress is sometimes uncontrollable. You don’t sleep well, so you come in late or take a longer break, lash out at your co-workers or disobey instructions. The researchers recommended that organizations take measures to reduce or curb abusive supervision. Regular training programmes to help supervisors learn and adopt more effective interpersonal and management skills, implementing fair policies as well as conducting stress management training can help employees, they suggested.
