Does having a bad boss make you more likely to be one yourself?

• Main Authors: TAYLOR, Shannon G., FOLGER, Robert, VADERA, Abhijeet K., GRIFFITH, Matthew D., LETWIN, Chaim R.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Industrial and Organizational Psychology; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/6249; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/7248/viewcontent/Bad_Boss_Make_You_More.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Toxic bosses harm employees in countless ways — for instance, by lowering morale, diminishing well-being, and increasing work-family conflict. Estimates suggest abusive supervision costs organizations millions in lost productivity, employee turnover, and litigation each year. Although prior research has found that leader behaviors can “trickle down” to affect the actions of employees at lower organizational levels, surely not all abused supervisors abuse their own subordinates. So when do supervisors perpetuate abuse in organizations, when don’t they, and why?