Workplace Competition Is Leading Managers To Sabotage Talented Employees: Study

The researchers surveyed 335 executives and found that nearly 30 per cent had witnessed sabotage within their organisations. Among them, 71 per cent reported observing top-down sabotage

This behaviour not only hampers the careers of talented employees but can also negatively impact organisational culture

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In a highly competitive work environment, where employees are competing for promotions and bonuses, colleagues are likely to sabotage each other's performance, reveals a Harvard study. The report also highlighted that the intensity of competition can escalate to the point where even supervisors might intentionally undermine the prospects of talented subordinates to safeguard their own positions and reduce future competition, according to a report from Forbes India.

A survey-based study led by Hashim Zaman, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard's Laboratory for Innovation Sciences, and Karim Lakhani, a professor of business administration at Harvard, revealed that top-down sabotage is surprisingly prevalent in organisations.

The researchers surveyed 335 executives and found that nearly 30 per cent had witnessed sabotage within their organisations. Among them, 71 per cent reported observing top-down sabotage, while 5 per cent admitted to sabotaging their direct reports.

"The manager is supposed to act in the best interests of the firm, but personal interests can take precedence. Typically, sabotage is directed toward more capable colleagues. In a hierarchical organisation, your manager may see you as a future peer, a competitor for further promotions, or even a replacement risk, so they have an incentive to use their authority to mitigate your growth ahead of time,” Zaman told Forbes India.

This behaviour not only hampers the careers of talented employees but can also negatively impact organisational culture and hurt overall corporate performance, Zaman added. Approximately 28 per cent of the 335 executives surveyed reported being victims of top-down sabotage within their organisations.

When asked about the motivations behind managers sabotaging their subordinates, around 3 per cent of respondents attributed it to financial concerns, while 21 per cent said it stemmed from fear of losing their status. About 24 per cent indicated that both status and financial worries played a role in driving managers to undermine employees. Interestingly, only 5 per cent of the executives admitted to feeling guilty about engaging in sabotage, according to the research.