It’s never a good look to be a workplace bully. From overly aggressive dialogue to toxic and sometimes violent antics, these personalities are typically seen as hostile and bad for business. But, one study says, not so fast.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a new study found workplace bullies get more positive results than negative when it comes to their supervisors and their advancement:
In a rather disheartening study, a team of researchers led by Darren C. Treadway, of the University at Buffalo School of Management, found that many workplace bullies receive positive evaluations from their supervisors and achieve high levels of career success, despite organizational efforts to curtail bullying.
The researchers sought to study the relationship between workplace bullying and job performance. They collected behavioral and job-performance data from 54 employees of a U.S. healthcare firm, and found a strong correlation between bullying, positive job evaluations and social and political skill in the workplace.
The study defines workplace bullying as “systematic aggression and violence targeted towards one or more individuals by one individual or by a group.â€