Meanness & Executive Pay
This post is based on a submission by reader Phillip Vedol.
Summary #
According to a recently published paper increases in compensation lead to increases in meanness among corporate leaders.
(Photo: patrick_q at Flickr)
Commentary #
The study's posits that "higher income inequality between executives and ordinary workers" leads to a perception of power that ultimately results in maltreatment of "rank and file workers" (p. 1). This follows the research on the relationship between power and lying and reinforces the image of powerful managers who abuse their position (e.g., Emmett Milbarage in Chuck).
Meta #
Have you experienced this sort of behavior? What about the opposite (magnanimous over-paid managers)?
See Also #
-
When Executives Rake in Millions: Meanness in Organizations for the original paper.
-
Executive Compensation: The More Leaders Make, the Meaner They Get at the Harvard Business Review Research Blog for a longer discussion.
Updates #
2011-09-20 #
- See The Power Trip at The Wall Street Journal for another discussion.
2023-11-28 #
- This paper appears to have been retracted.