'Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Strategy': Being a Bad Boss Does Pay, Study Says

We've probably all been there: felt the familiar sinking feeling when that "bad boss" steps into work.

But according to a new study, the employers we should all be on our guard against instead, may be much harder to spot.

Researchers from Harvard University, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Behavior in Plön, Germany, studied power balances between 160 people in different positions of authority.

What they found is that profit-driven bosses are most successful when they attempt to manipulate their workers, while maintaining a friendly demeanor. The researchers called it "a wolf in sheep's clothing" strategy, designed to mask their selfish manipulation, while still pushing for results.

It means that workplace extortionists might not be so easy to identify.

The report suggest that if you hear tell-tale phrases like, "If you don't want to do the job, I'm sure we'll find somebody else who does," delivered with a sympathetic smile, that person may be your office "wolf"!

The 160 test subjects of the study took part in a so-called "prisoner's dilemma" game, where two players choose, over several rounds, if they will cooperate with each other or not, in order to receive a cash reward. However, there was a twist: one of the players was allowed to swap their opponent if they were not satisfied with the latter's cooperative behavior. The swapped player was then replaced by a previously inactive player, and suspended from the game for several rounds.

"This is the equivalent of a boss firing and replacing an employee," explained Christian Hilbe of IST Austria.

Co-players began to learn that they were more successful at getting payouts, if they allowed themselves to be frequently and knowingly exploited by their "bosses" for mutual benefit. Players who refused to cooperate with the extortionists, were permanently sent to the "unemployed" replacement bench and went home with a small pay off in the end. 

In the tests, the most successful pairs co-operated with each other regardless of who had the most power.

The Good News

However, some good news for employees getting nervous right now, the "bosses" who got too greedy and too selfish in their blackmail attempts, stopped winning large payouts.

Their subordinates simply withdrew all their support.

"A heavy-handed boss who always solely relies on exploitation is not successful," said Manfred Milinski, director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology.

"Without occasional cooperation, the system doesn't work.

"It is therefore those people who appear to be friendly on the surface we maybe should be most wary of."

You've been warned!