Effect of Abusive Supervision on employees

Bullying has been documented in the workplace on many occasions. It involves violating a person's rights in such a way that the individual is either physically or mentally damaged, or both. “Bullying in the workplace has gained widespread coverage in both popular and scholarly media. According to research, it has affected anywhere from one-third to one-half of existing workers. Despite the fact that the American workplace is primed for coercion, the US lags behind European countries that have passed laws banning it.” (Spring 2012, p. 34, Sanders, Pattison, and Bible) Abusive supervision refers to the “employees’ perceptions of the extent to which their immediate bosses or supervisors take part in the sustained display of hostile nonverbal and verbal behaviors. Most employers who are abusive to employees usually think that they are good at delegating; besides, they may think that their leadership style is authoritative and effective. This is wrong because what such abuse does is that it diminishes the productivity of employees. Employees become indifferent and would never propose any steps or changes that would make the organization in question realize production process improvement. More invaluable insights on what abusive supervision is and how it can negatively affect employees ‘productivity in the workplace are shown below.

Abusive Supervision and Its Effect on Employees

It has been reported that recently hired and existing employees at the Miami Coalition, Inc. we’re being subjected to a hostile work environment as well as hostile behavior by the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”). An external investigation into the allegations of an abusive supervisor (namely the CEO) at the Miami Coalition, Inc. (“the organization”) was conducted. The allegations were found to be true. It was also discovered that recently hired employees voluntarily terminate their employment at the Miami Coalition, Inc. within three to four months of being hired due to the hostile work environment and the hostile behavior of the CEO. The CEO managed the organization by using coercive power—the use of psychological and emotional threats, humiliation as well as verbal and written reprimands, demotion and termination (Griffin, 2016, p. 331).



Definition

“Abusive supervision is defined as “subordinates’ perceptions of the extent to which supervisors engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, excluding physical contact” (Harris, Harvey, Harris, & Cast, 2013, p. 39). According to Harris, Harvey, Harris, & Cast, (Harris, Harvey, Harris, & Cast, 2013, p. 40) “…abusive supervision includes ridiculing, publicly criticizing, or giving the silent treatment. It represents a negative exchange and is likely to elicit negative reciprocity.”

Effect on Employees and the Organization

“In the case of abusive supervision, employees are likely to feel less positively about their work (higher frustration and lower perceived organizational support) and react negatively towards others in the workplace. Although subordinates may want to reciprocate negative treatment to their supervisor, it is difficult to do so because of power differences, reward controls, and future implications. A safe target for an abused subordinate to vent aggression toward is often coworkers” (Harris, Harvey, Harris, & Cast, 2013, p. 40).

“American firms are now beginning to recognize that bullies poison their work environment with low morale, job dissatisfaction, fear, anger, and depression. It is understood that the employer pays for this in lost efficiency, absenteeism, sick leave due to stress-related illnesses, high staff turnover, severance packages, lawsuits, self-defensive paperwork, and wasted time at work involving targets defending themselves and networking for support. In extreme cases, violence may be the tragic result of workplace bullying” (Sanders, Pattison, & Bible, Spring 2012, p. 29). “The cost of abusive supervision to organizations was estimated at $23.8 billion annually and entailed loss of productivity, absenteeism, and health care costs. Furthermore, abusive supervision is associated with low perceived organizational support; meaning employees who reported being victims of abusive supervision view the organization as responsible for the supervisor’s actions” (Mathieu &Babiak, 2016, p. 102).

Severity of the Problem

“The American workplace has become primed for bullying due largely to the economic pressures that exist today and to the growth of the service sector, which now represents over seventy percent of the economy. Because the service industry work involves significant face-to-face or voice-to-voice interaction, it is susceptible to personality clashes that afford potential bullies greater opportunities” (Sanders, Pattison, & Bible, Spring 2012, p. 3).

Alternative Solutions

We have identified two alternatives to correcting the behavior of the Chief Executive Officer: (1) executive coaching or (2) Disciplinary Notice.

The Executive Coaching

Executive coaching is usually an important and influential contributor to the running of a company or any organizational regarding change and talent improvement objectives. Executive coaching is a crucial approach over which leadership in multifaceted as well as self-motivated organizations can be established using real-life encounters. Identifying various organizations in which different leaders work, executive coaching mainly emphases on three areas; organization or companies, Individuals as well as the business team.

Executive coaching uses a variety of vigorous mental theories as well as confirmed techniques from counseling, coaching, psychotherapy and also organization development. The coaching team usually works with the aim to strengthen organization capability in initiating various organizational changes.

The executive coaching team brings out a unique incorporation of businesses as well as behavioral awareness and proficiency. The coaches usually have experience in business, teaching and consulting. They conduct research with prominent businesses and public sector organizations internationally. Many of our faculty and consultants are also experienced and competent since they undergo consistent regulation.

Through interactive approach, our coaches are expected to work with some levels comprising of:

• The relationships with, and expectations about, a business and the relationships that exists within the organization

• What is brought from the organization relations?

Disciplinary Notice

Management of employees in a workstation is usually a multifaceted responsibility. Managerial leaders are conversant with the convolutions that are essential in managing an organization. An example of a difficult, inevitable incidence in running an organization is the battle. It signifies a struggle between two conflicting ideas. With this being, conflicts between a manager and an employee are most probably a constant encounter in the workstation.

An established and a sound relationship amongst the organization and employees only depend upon the regulation that is practiced by the manager of that organization. For instance for ensuring of maintenance of those relationships as a condition is to uphold a specific performance and behavioral values amongst the workers and the managerial staff. Disciplinary measures should be acted upon to the employees, for instance, they have not adhered to the standards; the disciplinary will act otherwise as the measures are to be imposed thus advancing their performance and upholding the firm understanding. However, if the workers do not comply with the style of performing disciplinary activities, it is opted to set back the association in the middle of the manager and the workers.

The assurance and believe that the unfriendly duties of an administrative manager are to ensure that the practice of a corrective action to an employee who has violated the regulations has to be acted upon him or her. Although the primary and the core objective is to incorporate the employee's undesirable behaviors and conducts, their adoptions are frequently displayed to contrasting individual interpretations.

Pros of Executive Coaching

Executive coaching in organizations is significant in the sense that it allows the promotion of effective teamwork in addition to improving the overall performance. It also assists in providing guidance and nurturing of adequate leadership skills among the members of management in an organization (Friginal 2007). The improvement in skills in return result in improvement in the competitive level of an organization such that it gains a competitive advantage. Adequate leadership also promoted good behavior as employees emulate how members of management coordinate themselves. Executive coaching allows the improvement and progress of individuals that are highly competent such that it prepares them for leadership duties in future. The coaching also facilitates the development of good relations between the management and the employees by which the management sets up rules which everyone is expected to follow. Good relations facilitate adequate handling of conflicts because of the level of understanding among the employees in addition to the management (Friginal, 2007). In regards to bullying, executive coaching can be used to instill adequate leadership skills to the management such that they can eliminate it from the workplace.



Cons of Executive Coaching

It is important to note that executive coaching lacks particular demerits because of the significant role it plays in the management of an organization. Nonetheless, inefficiencies in managing it may result in problems. From a practical perspective, providing coaching without adequate assessment on how bullying can be eliminated from the workplace might lead to an unproductive session and a wastage of resources. Another limitation entails not assessing the possible risk that may interfere with a coaching session which may interfere with the goals of a coaching session (Friginal, 2007).

In a business surrounding where performance achieved from the company objectives and goals worked for hand in hand with the management is believed to be everything for the advancement, business coaching is trusted to help improve the growing performance, give morale to the employees and institute new strategies for the achievement of the company. As opposed to being a small business sole proprietor, you will realize that the advantages of business coaching are more of value than the unexpected upfront costs.

Disciplinary Notices; an Overview

In employment law, disciplinary notice refers to a process for addressing workplace-related conduct that does not agree with expected and earlier communicated performance thresholds. The main aim for disciplinary notice is to help the worker to get to understand that a problem with performance or the chance for improvement is present. In addition to that, it is worth mentioning that disciplinary notice revolves around attempts to give feedback to the worker so he or she can take care of the dismal performance. The aims of disciplinary notices usually are to improve the performance of employees (Griffin, 2016).

Some may be taken by an employer to put a disciplinary notice into effect. These include verbally reprimand the worker because of his or her poor performance. Secondly, the employer can offer a written and verbal word of warning in the worker’s file, in bid to better overall performance of the employee. At times employers also offer an escalating number of days where an employee is given suspension from work; usually to go and think about his or her performance improvement. Finally, work can be terminated if an employee does not improve.

Pros of Disciplinary Notices

If used appropriately, disciplinary notices can work very well to the benefit of an organization. What a manager needs to do is to talk to an employee in confidentiality and explain the problem. These way disciplinary notes will act as evaluation tools where employees will work towards self-improvement. In addition to that, disciplinary notes offer clear explanations of the aftermath subsequent to the breaking of employer rules (Mathieu & Babiak, 2016). Thirdly, disciplinary notes give a chance for fairness and consistency in disciplinary measures for all the employees involved. Employees get to change bad behavior and employers voice their concerns through such. Finally, these notices give management a chance to explain to workers the actions that can be taken to restore top-notch productivity.

Cons of Disciplinary Notice

Several disadvantages come with disciplinary notices. These include the possibility that an employee will feel picked. In addition to that, some employees may choose to leave with immediate effect because they may think their work is not appreciated; high turnover numbers are eventually expensive to an organization because hiring now and then needs orientation and basic training (Mathieu & Babiak, 2016). It is worth mentioning that interpersonal relationships may be compromised due to a simple act of issuing a disciplinary notice. For example, an employee may develop resentment towards his or her boss together with the whistleblower.

Select and Recommend One of the Alternative Solutions and State Your Rationale

One of the alternative solutions is individual coaching by which an employee who is found engaged in bullying is guided on how to control his or her conduct. The coaching allows the employee to be exposed on the policies of the company in regards to respecting other people in addition to keeping the employee in check with the awareness that he or she is closely monitored.

How Implement the Solution

The solution would be implemented by making it a policy among the managers and the members of staff on the need for respecting other people by which individuals who engage in the act will be closely monitored. Individuals engaged in any form of bullying would have to report their behavioral progress to their coaches on a daily basis.

(6) How to evaluate its effectiveness.

Through the reports, the coaches will be able to keep records of the behavior of individuals until they personally indicate that the coaching has accomplished it goal. If the objectives of a program are not achieved, the coach will have to repeat the whole procedure while analyzing areas that require changes by which the employee will be terminated if the indiscipline cases keep on occurring.

Summary

Employers need to understand that employees are human beings first before they are workers. This way they will be able to treat them with more respect. Employees, handled appropriately, will be able to offer more commitment to their work and it is therefore in the best interest of employers to respect them.









































References

Griffin, R. W. (2016). Fundamentals of Management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Friginal, E. (2007). Outsourced call centers and English in the Philippines.World Englishes, 26(3), 331-345.

Harris, K. J., Harvey, P., Harris, R. B., & Cast, M. (2013). An Investigation of Abusive Supervision, Vicarious Abusive Supervision, and Their Joint Impacts. The Journal of Social Psychology, 153(1), 38-50.



Mathieu, C., & Babiak, P. (2016). Personality and Individual Differences. Elsevier(91), 102-106.



Sanders, D. E., Pattison, P., & Bible, J. D. (Spring 2012). Legislating "Nice": Analysis and Assessment of Proposed Workplace Bullying Prohibitions. Southern Law Journal, 22(1), 1-36.