Proceedings of The International Social Sciences Conference
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Workplace Power Abuse and Employees’ Voice-Silence-Exit Behavior: A Qualitative Study in Hungary
Julianna Czifra, and Csilla Csukonyi
ABSTRACT:
While supervisors and managers usually exercise their power to facilitate social cohesion and the achievement of organizational goals, this same power can be abused in the form of coercion or to serve personal interests. The unethical or dysfunctional exercise of power may lead to conflict and affect subordinates’ job performance, psychosocial wellbeing and behavioral responses, such as the voice-exit-silence behavior. Empirical research shows that when leaders repeatedly exhibit harmful behavior to demonstrate their power, or abuse their power for personal gain, subordinates may engage in defensive or acquiescent silence or leave the company if they perceive that speaking up or reporting misconduct may elicit retribution from their managers. In 2024, we conducted qualitative research in Hungary to understand how workplace power and its abuse is defined, perceived, experienced and responded to by employees. Our research was based on content analysis of 12 interviews with organizational experts, a focus group discussion with 3 employees, and responses to a qualitative survey filled out by 80 employees. As a result, we were able to conceptualize power abuse as employees’ perception of unethical or dysfunctional acts carried out by leaders with harmful leadership styles and power motives, which trigger stress coping mechanisms and voice-exit-silence behavior. Our research provides valuable insight into how power abuse is framed by experts and employees, and how it activates stress and behavioral responses. It also offers organizations some recommendations concerning possible interventions and preventive actions against the abuse of power in the workplace.
keywords: conflicts, business ethics, harmful leadership, misconduct, prevention