Many of us have experienced mistreatment at work and almost half have observed it happening to others, new research finds. Because third parties observers often outnumber the main players in mistreatment, observer reactions and empathy should be more actively managed. Research by Jason Colquitt sheds light on managing mistreatment at work. Professor Colquitt notes:
"Some consequences of observing mistreatment seem functional or beneficial in the workplace. For example, observing mistreatment triggers anger toward the perpetrator along with negative evaluations of and behaviors toward that perpetrator. It also triggers empathy toward the victim. As a whole, such reactions should serve to discourage mistreatment and help employees recover from it. Unfortunately, other consequences of observing mistreatment seem dysfunctional or detrimental in the workplace, and here is where our findings deviate from deonance theory. We find that observing mistreatment triggers schadenfreude from the event, alongside negative evaluations of the victim and negative behaviors toward them — a cognitive and behavioral ‘blame the victim’ response. Those sorts of reactions can harm the emotional tenor of the workplace while discouraging the reporting of mistreatment."
Read more about Jason Colquitt and Jefferson McClain's work.
