The Hidden Cost of Leader Upward Ingratiation
Source PublicationSpringer Science and Business Media LLC
Primary AuthorsShen, Li, Liu et al.
The Downside of Leader Upward Ingratiation
Imagine your boss is a smartphone. Leader upward ingratiation is like a resource-heavy app running constantly in the background. It drains the battery fast, leaving the device glitchy and unresponsive when you actually need it to function.
Note: This article is based on a preprint. The research has not yet been peer-reviewed and results should be interpreted as preliminary.
We usually view brown-nosing as a solo act of ambition. However, this early-stage research looks at the collateral damage. If a manager spends all their energy flattering the CEO, what happens to the people reporting to them? The results suggest a toxic ripple effect.
How Flattery Exhausts the Office
Researchers used a scenario-based experiment and a three-wave survey to track office dynamics. The findings, currently awaiting peer review, suggest that sucking up is hard work. This performance leads to emotional exhaustion, leaving leaders with nothing left in the tank for their own staff.
When leaders are drained, they stop being polite. This burnout triggers workplace incivility, where managers become rude or dismissive to their subordinates. The study indicates this chain reaction destroys 'guanxi'—the social harmony and trust within the team.
The study also suggests:
- Strictly hierarchical team climates may worsen this exhaustion.
- Burnout acts as a bridge between flattery and rudeness.
- Poor relationships with subordinates are a direct result of leader fatigue.
This suggests that 'kissing up' is not a victimless crime. It may create a cycle that ruins office culture from the top down. Organisations might need to monitor these behaviours to prevent team burnout and maintain a healthy work environment.