Accuse Someone at Work and Get a Bonus (Not Really)

Now here's a shocker.  A new study says making an accusation at work makes you more trustworthy, according to newswise.com.

The web site explains that "making an accusation about unethical business practices undermines trust in the accused and enhances trust in the accuser, but only if the accusation is made in good faith, according to new research led by Jessica Kennedy, assistant professor of management at the Owen Graduate School of Management."

Accusations are common in the workplace, but up until now, there has not been much research on the consequences for making one, she notes. “When we started this paper, we thought that people who call out unethical behavior and groups tend to be viewed negatively by others. If you look at the portrayals of whistleblowers in the media, those are the most salient examples. But we thought that there might actually be some benefits to upholding ethical norms in groups and we wanted to explore what those benefits were.”

When I think of someone accusing someone of something, I have to say my experience hasn't been all that rosy.  The only example I can think of is the time I went over my boss' head (innocently enough) to see if I could get more work because I had too much time on my hands (I know, I know, now that looks pretty stupid!).  And my boss at the time began to punish me.  He never openly accused me of anything he screwed me as though I had. 

But be careful.  It can also backfire on you.

• The intentions of the accused don’t seem to matter. Regardless of whether the accused meant well or not, the accuser always comes out ahead.
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.The researchers conducted several experiments focused on ordinary ethical questions that arise in the workplace, such as using a toxic ingredient in a product or lying about business performance. Newswise lists them as:

• Making an accusation engenders cognitive trust from observers. People who witness an accusation report feeling as though the accuser is more trustworthy afterwards.
• Making an accusation also engenders behavioral trust from observers. People who witness an accusation are more likely to reward accusers.
• But hypocrisy undercuts that additional trust. Observers who perceive that an accusation is insincere will not trust the accuser more.
• Likewise, an accusation later revealed to be false reverses any trust gains.

Kennedy points out on the web site that it was important to note that "this research is narrowly focused on accusations pertaining to common business misconduct, and that different trust dynamics may develop in situations such as whistle-blowing, which reveals extraordinary business misconduct to parties outside the organization, or when the accusations are related to wrongs done to the accuser. These data should not be interpreted to suggest that accusing someone of, say, sexual harassment would have the same result as the scenarios we tested.”

This research is important, she adds, because it pinpoints a number of ways that accusations impact interpersonal relationships and perceptions in the workplace—for better and worse. And, she said, it can help managers tease out instances where an employee may opportunistically make an accusation in an effort to burnish their reputation as an ethical person.

“Politicians seem to do this a lot, possibly because it works as long as they don’t look hypocritical,” she concludes. Likewise, in the workplace, “it's often good to call out unethical behavior, but we also need to be aware of the potential for accusers to impression-manage and ask ourselves, should we trust these people?”