Targets of Abusive Bosses Aren’t the Only Victims

Awareness by top management can help prevent the impact of ‘vicarious abuse’ supervision

Abusive bosses who target employees with ridicule, public criticism, and the silent treatment not only have a detrimental effect on the employees they target, but they negatively impact the coworkers of those employees, who suffer from “secondhand” abusive supervision.

In the first ever study to investigate vicarious supervisory abuse, Paul Harvey, associate professor of organizational behavior at the University of New Hampshire, and his colleagues found 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.

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 victims’ coworkers.

Vicarious supervisory abuse is defined as the observation or awareness of a supervisor abusing 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. Respondents were asked about supervisory abuse, vicarious supervisory abuse, job frustration, perceived organizational support, and coworker abuse.

The investigation found similar negative impacts of firsthand supervisory abuse and secondhand 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.