Mistreatment in the workplace has been widely acknowledged, but the impact of coworker undermining has not been adequately explored in the literature. Using insights from the job demands–resources model, Aníbal López and co-authors suggest that coworker undermining (e.g., spread rumors, withhold information, claim credit for your work, sabotage colleagues efforts) deteriorates employees’ health over time due to the experience of negative emotions. The findings also reveal that this effect is particularly strong for individuals who struggle to forgive their colleagues for such actions.
The authors explore these relationships in a time-lagged study involving 229 participants who responded to three surveys over a month-long period.
As far as practitioner take aways, organizations:
- should establish clear expectations for appropriate behaviour and ensure that all employees are aware of the organization’s policies on workplace conduct.
- need to communicate clearly that undermining behaviour will not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action.
- should create opportunities for employees to provide feedback on their work environment.
Employees could report incidents of coworker undermining by completing an anonymous survey without fear of negative consequences.
