Employees Are Bullying Their Bosses

Much attention in recent years has justifiably been focused on the harm that toxic workplaces inflict on employees, especially when spiteful, manipulative or abusive managers are responsible. But new study data indicates a far less acknowledged form of professional mistreatment is on the rise—one known as the upward bullying of people in leadership roles by their subordinates.

That flipping of roles in the typical toxic workplace scenario was quantified by Australian business consultancy Maureen Kyne, whose global survey questioned leaders in roles from middle managers to CEOs and board members. Responses contained alarming insights into the upward-bullying trend, as well as first-hand accounts that were remarkably consistent despite differences in company size, sector or nationality—including U.S. participants, who made up nearly 20 percent of the total. Fully 71 percent of all respondents reported having personally experienced upward bullying, with nearly three-quarters saying the abuse is becoming more frequent.

"The presence of similar patterns across organizations of different sizes points to a systemic behavioral risk, not a localized cultural anomaly," a report on the study said. "This challenges common assumptions that upward bullying is more likely in flat structures, extensive bureaucracies or organizations that are changing. Scale does not protect organizations from upward bullying."

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