Childhood emotional abuse linked to workplace conflicts in power-seeking employees

A survey of employees and their coworkers in China found that individuals who experienced emotional abuse as children were more likely to have workplace conflicts, but only when they were highly focused on seeking power. These individuals were also more likely to become victims of workplace ostracism. The findings were published in Personality and Individual Differences.

Workplace ostracism and interpersonal conflict can have profoundly negative impacts on well-being. Workplace ostracism refers to the exclusion or ignoring of an individual by coworkers, often leaving the person feeling isolated and undervalued. In contrast, interpersonal conflict at work involves disagreements or tensions between employees, arising from differences in goals, values, or interpersonal dynamics. Ostracism often manifests subtly, such as through non-verbal cues or exclusion from discussions, while conflicts can escalate from minor misunderstandings to serious disputes.

Certain individuals are more susceptible to ostracism or workplace conflicts due to factors like personality traits (e.g., introversion or assertiveness), perceived differences in status, or cultural and communication styles. Employees who deviate from group norms or are seen as threats to social balance may be excluded or targeted. Additionally, power dynamics and organizational culture play significant roles, as environments that tolerate or reward aggressive or exclusionary behaviors can worsen these issues.

Study author Beini Liu and her colleagues sought to explore the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and the likelihood of being ostracized or involved in workplace conflicts. They noted that social learning theory suggests individuals learn behaviors by observing authority figures, such as parents. As a result, those who experienced emotional abuse during childhood might be more prone to interpersonal conflicts at work as adults. This relationship could be amplified for individuals who are highly focused on gaining power in the workplace. The researchers also hypothesized that employees involved in interpersonal conflicts would be more likely to experience ostracism.

The researchers conducted their study in two phases within a Chinese information technology company. In the first phase, 350 employees reported whether they had experienced childhood emotional abuse and provided demographic information. Participants were asked to recall the most emotionally abusive year of their childhood and rate how often they were treated poorly by their parents during that time.

Two weeks later, the researchers asked a coworker of each employee to assess the respondent’s level of interpersonal conflict at work (e.g., “How often does the employee get into arguments with others at work?”). Another two weeks after that, participants rated the extent to which they felt ostracized (e.g., “Others in the company ignored me at work”) and how much they sought power (e.g., “I would like to be in a powerful position in an organization”).

Ultimately, the researchers collected complete data from 257 participants (73% of the initial sample), representing 51 different teams within the company. The participants had an average age of 34 and an average tenure of 11 years at the company. Employees with less than one year of tenure were excluded from the study. Among the participants, 49% were male, and 37% were married.

The results indicated that older individuals experienced slightly more workplace ostracism. Participants who were more focused on seeking power reported higher levels of ostracism and were also reported by coworkers to be involved in more interpersonal conflicts. Furthermore, employees involved in more interpersonal conflicts were more likely to feel ostracized.

Contrary to expectations, the reported level of childhood emotional abuse was not directly associated with workplace conflict or ostracism. However, when the researchers analyzed data from participants who reported a strong desire for power, a significant association emerged. In this subgroup, individuals who reported more severe experiences of childhood emotional abuse were more likely to be involved in interpersonal conflicts and to feel ostracized.

“Employees who have experienced childhood emotional abuse should be aware of its potential spill-over effects onto their interpersonal conflict management in the workplace. They should pay particular attention to their words and behaviors when conflicts with co-workers are possible,” the study authors concluded.

“In other words, employees should be mindful that their negative childhood experiences could counterproductively affect their workplace behaviors when they are seeking to increase their authority at work. Our findings also imply that when employees are actively seeking power, their knowledge and toolkit picked up from childhood traumas become extremely salient and may encourage undesirable social conduct.”

The study sheds light on the relationship between childhood abuse and experiences at work. However, it should be noted that all participants were employees of a single company working in the information industry. Results on other companies from other industries might not be identical. Additionally, the design of the study does not allow any cause-and-effect conclusions to be derived from the results.

The paper, “Suffered from deep-seated childhood shadows: Linking childhood emotional abuse to interpersonal conflict at work and workplace ostracism,” was authored by Beini Liu, Minya Xu, and Jingjing Yao.