Science Explains Bureaucrats' Bad Attitudes
Ask the average Joe on the street about the typical attitude of government clerks and you'll probably get a portrait pretty much in line with Marge Simpson's chain-smoking sisters Patty and Selma, who are employed by none other than the DMV on the series. Grumpy, rude, slow moving and petty, clerks, civil servants and low-level but dictatorial managers have some of the worst reputations of any profession. But what's behind this image problem?
Researchers from USC, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the Kellogg School aimed to find out with a recent study, the results of which are soon to be published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. To test how power and status affect behavior, the scientists assigned those usual guinea pigs, undergraduates, either a high status "idea producer" or low status "worker" role and then had them dole out tasks, some of them demeaning (barking like a dog, for example), to their fellow students.
The results showed that when low status individuals were given greater power, they were more likely to demand others perform embarrassing acts than those with other combinations of power and status. The findings refines the old adage that power corrupts, according to Nathanael Fast, professor of management at USC, who spoke to CNN about the findings:
We found that people who had high power and high status, they were pretty cool, but it was people who had power and lacked status who used their power to require other persons to engage in demeaning behavior.While the results have been used to shed line on the terrible behavior of some soldiers at Abu Ghraib, but a more mundane takeaway from the research is a better understanding of the Patty and Selmas of the world who take out their status anxiety in negative ways when given power. (And of course, before I get a bunch of angry emails, it should also be noted that there are many totally helpful and friendly civil servants out there who don't let their situation negatively affect their customer service.)
So how can you get petty dictators at the DMV or elsewhere to actually help you renew your driver's license or settle your bit of business without too much attitude? The research suggests exactly the same technique your grandmother would have recommended: Show them a little respect. A bit of kindness "assuages negative feelings about their low-status roles, and leads them to treat others positively," according to the research. Snapping back then is unlikely to be helpful.
Read More on BNET:
- Your Co-Workers' Bad Attitudes Are Contagious, Study Says
- 8 Ways to Neutralize Negative People
- Is an Employee Cranky? Why You Should Take it Seriously