A recent research from the University of Georgia, titled Short-Term Fulfilment: How Supervisors’ Motives for Abusive Behaviours Influence Need Satisfaction and Daily Outcomes, reveals surprising insights into abusive supervision.
Contrary to the common assumption that such behaviours stem from stress, overwhelm, or burnout, some supervisors engage in abusive behaviours such as yelling or belittling employees to assert authority, boost compliance, and control outcomes.
Alarmingly, these abusive supervisors feel more in control and emotionally satisfied after such encounters, reinforcing their toxic leadership behaviours. These supervisors tend to justify their behaviours to ensure followership, compliance, and task completion.
However, this approach leads to employee disengagement, which in turn affects their motivation to contribute meaningfully to the organisation. When employees are disengaged, it hampers productivity, performance, and organisational growth. Work tasks cannot be separated from work relationships. When employees are treated like mere cogs in a machine, especially under abusive supervision, they are unable to bring their full selves to their work.
Dr William Kahn, the pioneer of employee engagement, defines engagement as an employee’s ability to harness their “full self” at work. According to Kahn, the three psychological conditions for personal engagement and disengagement at work are:
- Meaningfulness – Does the employee find their work meaningful?
- Safety – Does the employee feel psychologically safe to speak up without fear of reprisal?
- Availability – Does the employee have the resources—mental, emotional, and physical—to bring their full self to work?
As HR leaders and practitioners, we are the custodians of our organisation’s employee engagement. To discourage abusive supervision, we must enlighten leaders that there are more effective and sustainable ways to lead, inspire, and influence employees without resorting to belittlement or control-driven tactics.
Turning insight into action: Responding to employee engagement surveys
What matters most after conducting employee engagement surveys is the follow-up. We must respond meaningfully to the employees’ feedback about leadership behaviours and supervision. Using these data points, I have collaborated with HR and corporate leaders to identify areas for improvement in team culture and leadership behaviour.
One recurring theme in employee feedback is the lack of appreciation and a sense of being undervalued at work. Hence, I had initiated “The Five Languages of Appreciation at Work” programme, co-created by Dr Paul White. This programme enables leaders to discover what makes them feel appreciated and equips them with the tools to express appreciation effectively. The languages of appreciation are words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service and tangible gifts, which can be applied in daily leadership practices.
With supportive leadership, results can still be achieved while fostering stronger interpersonal connections and empowering employees to bring their best selves to work.
Leadership today is no longer about command and control—it is about connection and co-creation
Another common theme from the engagement surveys is the lack of psychological safety. Employees often feel unsafe sharing ideas, concerns, or asking for help openly in team settings. This is where data-driven insights can help us educate leaders to do the inner work—examining alternative ways to complete tasks and achieve results with their team, rather than being abusive to their team employees.
READ MORE: Verbal strategies for leaders: Cultivating psychological safety in teams
To encourage the commitment from leaders, we could co-create action plans with them on how to foster psychological safety in the workplace—where everyone’s voice is heard, respected, and valued. For instance, in team meetings and discussions, we use the ground rule: “Speak openly and commit at the end.” This encourages open sharing of diverse ideas, even those that differ from the leader’s or majority’s perspective. Not only does this reduce groupthink, which can lead to poor decisions, but it also facilitates idea generation, supports creativity, and promotes complex problem-solving through diverse ideas and perspectives. Importantly, psychological safety does not mean a lack of accountability. The team must ultimately reach a shared commitment aligned with the organisation’s mission, values, and goals.
Creating the right culture for engagement
HR plays a crucial role in raising awareness and building the business case that authority, compliance, and control do not need to be enforced through abusive behaviours such as yelling, criticism, or gaslighting. If employees feel like they are walking on eggshells, feel insignificant, or lack interpersonal connection, appreciation, and psychological safety, they cannot fully harness their potential and remain engaged at work.
The goal of leadership today is to create an environment and culture that fosters engagement. This involves integrating human intelligence, emotional intelligence, and AI into the way we lead and work.
Source – https://hrmasia.com/bringing-the-whole-self-to-work-hrs-call-to-combat-abusive-supervision/