The limits of leniency

New research from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School shows that leaders who are lenient with employee misconduct can face unexpected backlash from their employees. Despite good intentions, letting misconduct slide leads to negative reactions from employees who view leniency as unfair and harmful to the work environment.

Marie Mitchell, a professor of organizational behavior at UNC Kenan-Flagler, worked with a team of researchers to study the impact of leader leniency on employees who observe the misconduct.

They reveal that employees expect leaders to address misconduct and hold individuals accountable – whether the issue is an ethical violation or a task-based error – because misconduct is costly. It can be a financial drain on organizations, and it places employees and customers in harm’s way.

Leaders might think the easy or empathetic thing to do is let things slide or be lenient, particularly if it is a small slight.

But their onlooking employees see them as having their heads in the sand. There’s a “social cost” to leniency for those employees, Mitchell says, and so it should be used with caution.

The research offers several key takeaways:

• Leader leniency from misconduct is prevalent in organizations, but this research shows it triggers negative reactions from employees who view it as unfair and irresponsible.
• Employees expect leaders to hold coworkers accountable for their misconduct.
• Negative reactions can be mitigated if employees believe there’s a moral justification, specifically if the offender is in personal distress. The sense of distress evokes compassion that reduces the unfairness of leniency and punitive reactions. Without a moral reason, employees experience contempt, which fuels the unfairness of leniency and their desire to punish the leader.

“Leniency should come with a warning label for leaders: Use carefully and when compassion is warranted,” Mitchell said of the findings.

The research offers valuable insights into leadership behavior and organizational justice. It is particularly relevant as workplaces continue to emphasize ethical standards, leadership and employee accountability, and employee cooperation and engagement.

Mitchell’s coauthors are Shubha Sharma of the University of Tulsa, Kate Zipay of Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business, Robert Bies of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and Natalie Croitoru, a PhD student at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

The findings of their studies are published in “Considering Personal Needs in Misdeeds: The Role of Compassion in Shaping Observer Reactions to Leader Leniency,” which is forthcoming in the Journal of Applied Psychology.