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New research inspired by the aggressive kitchen antics of Gordon Ramsay shows that some supervisors deliberately engage in hostile behaviors - like yelling or belittling employees - not as a reaction to stress, but to assert dominance and reinforce leadership.
A survey of 100 supervisors across multiple industries by the University of Georgia found that while some lashed out due to burnout or negative emotions, a significant number admitted to using abusive tactics to ensure compliance and demonstrate control.
In a follow-up study, 249 supervisors were surveyed daily over a 15-day period. Results showed that when abuse stemmed from frustration or exhaustion, supervisors tended to feel guilt or regret but when they used abuse purposefully to reinforce authority or drive performance, they often felt a sense of satisfaction afterward.
“We have been studying abusive behavior in the workplace for 20 years, and we have known it always has bad outcomes for performance and productivity,” said Szu-Han (Joanna) Lin, the W. Richard and Emily Acree Professor in Management in the UGA Terry College of Business.
“But we also know that people keep doing it. I think we assumed that if managers engage in these behaviors, they’d feel bad, and it would always have a negative effect on them. But that’s not the case.”
The study was inspired in part by episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, the reality show that features sweary British chef Gordon Ramsay who often yells at underlings.
“I was watching season after season, and I thought, ‘Huh? I wonder why he acts like that,’” Lin said. “That really triggered my interest. I feel like most research focuses on how this type of behavior influences followers. But I wanted to know about the leaders. There must be something in it for them if they keep acting like this.”
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The distinction between reactive and intentional abuse has important implications for leadership development, in that supervisors who feel accomplished after mistreating subordinates to assert authority may be reinforcing negative behavior through emotional validation.
Understanding that such behavior is sometimes deliberate suggests organizations must do more than provide stress management resources, suggests the research. Leadership training should explicitly address power dynamics and promote constructive ways to manage teams without resorting to intimidation or emotional harm.
Implications for organizational leadership
Organizations must recognize the risk of enabling and even promoting managers who use abusive behavior as a management tool. Supervisors may not always act out of impulse or pressure. In some cases, they are using aggression to meet perceived leadership objectives.
It places added onus on HR teams to develop systems that flag abusive behaviors early and address them with appropriate interventions. Encouraging self-awareness, accountability, and coaching on effective leadership strategies can help move the needle on workplace abuse.
Companies should ensure their leaders are evaluated on how they achieve results, not just whether they meet performance targets. Promoting a culture where empathy and respect are valued as leadership strengths may help reduce incidences of intentional workplace abuse.
By providing leadership tools that promote authority without harm, and by prioritizing emotional intelligence in hiring and promotion, businesses can create environments that support both productivity and psychological safety.
Training leaders to lead without intimidation
To make lasting change, HR departments need to embed respectful leadership principles into performance reviews, promotion KPIs, and everyday feedback loops. Managers must learn that reinforcing authority can be done without yelling or belittling others.
Leaders who feel a need to establish control must be guided toward healthier ways to influence and inspire their teams.
“If you engage in abusive behaviors, it will always lead to negative outcomes," said Lin. "No one will be motivated at all. Leaders need to acknowledge this is happening if we want them to develop better tools and tactics.”
