Wright, Lori

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University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices11-12-2008Workers May Find Themselves Thrown Under TheBus In Economic DownturnLori WrightUNH Media RelationsFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationWright, Lori, "Workers May Find Themselves Thrown Under The Bus In Economic Downturn" (2008). UNH Today. 588.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/5889/13/2016 Workers May Find Themselves Thrown Under the Bus in Economic Downturnhttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2008/nov/lw12scapegoat.cfm.html 1/2UNH Media Relations Workers May Find Themselves Thrown Under The Bus InEconomic DownturnMedia Contact:  Lori Wright 603­862­0574UNH Media RelationsNovember 12, 2008EDITORS AND REPORTERS: Harvey can be reached at 603­862­3301 andpaul.harvey@unh.edu.DURHAM, N.H. ­ With more companies struggling during the economic downturn, employeesmay be more prone to blame someone else for problems they have caused, according to amanagement professor who studies behavior in the workplace."We're pretty obsessed with assigning blame in our culture. In the workplace, there usuallyare more challenges and failures during tough economic times, and because of self­servingattitudes, it's common to want to make sure the blame is on someone else," says PaulHarvey, assistant professor of management at the University of New Hampshire."It's a common human tendency for people to convince themselves that they are the cause ofthe good things but try to assign blame to others when things go wrong," Harvey says. "It'san ego defense mechanism that helps people feel good about themselves."Being targeted as a scapegoat can be devastating, whether or not the allegations are true.Once you have been made the scapegoat, Harvey says it can be difficult to fix the situation.Trying to explain the real cause of and responsibility for the problem may appear as desperateexcuses or, ironically, attempts to blame someone else. And if the person throwing you under the bus happens to be your boss, the situation becomeseven more complicated. "When that happens people usually have to stand their ground andhope that, over time, the facts help to vindicate them," Harvey says. According to the professor, the better approach is to avoid being made a scapegoat byproactively making sure everyone knows your responsibilities and structural limitationsbeforehand when you see a problem developing. "For example, FEMA probably could have avoided some criticism if, before Hurricane Katrina,they had said, ï¿½we're going to do our best once this thing hits, but we've got a city thattechnically should already be underwater and there's only so much we can do,' " Harvey says.The bottom line is scapegoating behavior is bad for business. "Scapegoating is a leadership behavior called abusive supervision, which includes things likespreading rumors about employees, insulting them, withholding information, and pretty mucheverything short of actual physical abuse. Behaviors such as scapegoating have been linked toa number of undesirable outcomes, including emotional stress and strain for employees,reduced performance levels, and a higher likelihood of employees quitting. So, managers andemployees risk harming the entire organization when they scapegoat others. Not the best wayto protect your ego," Harvey says.­30­9/13/2016 Workers May Find Themselves Thrown Under the Bus in Economic Downturnhttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2008/nov/lw12scapegoat.cfm.html 2/2

Workers May Find Themselves Thrown Under The Bus In Economic Downturn

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Workers May Find Themselves Thrown Under The Bus In Economic Downturn

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