How Power Affects People
To this point, we’ve discussed what power is and how it is acquired. But we’ve not yet answered one important question: does power corrupt?
There is certainly evidence that there are corrupting aspects of power. Power leads people to place their own interests ahead of others’ needs or goals. Why does this happen? Interestingly, power not only leads people to focus on their self-interests because they can, it also liberates them to focus inward and thus come to place greater weight on their own aims and interests. Power also appears to lead individuals to “objectify” others (to see them as tools to obtain their instrumental goals) and to see relationships as more peripheral.28
That’s not all. Powerful people react—especially negatively—to any threats to their competence. People in positions of power hold on to it when they can, and individuals who face threats to their power are exceptionally willing to take actions to retain it whether their actions harm others or not. Those given power are more likely to make self-interested decisions when faced with a moral hazard (such as when hedge fund managers take more risks with other people’s money because they’re rewarded for gains but punished less often for losses). People in power are more willing to denigrate others. Power also leads to overconfident decision making.29
Power Variables
As we’ve discussed, power does appear to have some important disturbing effects on us. But that is hardly the whole story—power is more complicated than that. It doesn’t affect everyone in the same way, and there are even positive effects of power. Let’s consider each of these in turn.
First, the toxic effects of power depend on the wielder’s personality. Research suggests that if you have an anxious personality, power does not corrupt you because you are less likely to think that using power benefits yourself.30 Second, the corrosive effect of power can be contained by organizational systems. For example, one study found that while power made people behave in a self-serving manner, the self-serving behavior stopped when accountability for the behavior was initiated. Third, we have the means to blunt the negative effects of power. One study showed that simply expressing gratitude toward powerful others makes them less likely to act aggressively against us. Finally, remember the saying that those with little power abuse what little they have? There seems to be some truth to this in that the people most likely to abuse power are those who start low in status and gain power. Why is this the case? It appears that having low status is threatening, and the fear this creates is used in negative ways if power is given later.31
As you can see, some factors can moderate the negative effects of power. But there can also be general positive effects. Power energizes and increases motivation to achieve goals. It also can enhance our motivation to help others. One study found, for example, that a desire to help others translated into actual work behavior when people felt a sense of power.32
This study points to an important insight about power. It is not so much that power corrupts as it reveals what we value. Supporting this line of reasoning, another study found that power led to self-interested behavior only in those with a weak moral identity (the degree to which morals are core to someone’s identity). In those with a strong moral identity, power enhanced their moral awareness and willingness to act.33
Sexual Harassment: Unequal Power in the Workplace
Sexual harassment is defined as any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment or creates a hostile work environment. According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), sexual harassment happens when a person encounters “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature” on the job that disrupts work performance or that creates an “intimidating, hostile, or offensive” work environment.34 Although the definition changes from country to country, most nations have at least some policies to protect workers. Whether the policies or laws are followed is another question, however. Equal employment opportunity legislation is established in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Oman, for example, but studies suggest it might not be well implemented.35
Generally, sexual harassment is more prevalent in male-dominated societies. For example, a study in Pakistan found that up to 93 percent of female workers were sexually harassed.36 In Singapore, up to 54 percent of workers (women and men) reported they were sexually harassed.37 The percentages in the United States and some other countries are generally much lower but still troubling. Surveys indicate about one-quarter of U.S. women and 10 percent of men have been sexually harassed.38 Data from the EEOC suggest that sexual harassment is decreasing: sexual harassment claims now make up 10 percent of all discrimination claims, compared with 20 percent in the mid-1990s. Of this percentage, though, claims from men have increased from 11 percent of total claims in 1997 to 17.5 percent today.39 Sexual harassment is disproportionately prevalent for women in certain types of jobs. In the restaurant industry, for instance, 80 percent of female waitstaff in a study reported having been sexually harassed by coworkers or customers, compared to 70 percent of male waitstaff.40
The bottom line is that managers have a responsibility to protect their employees from a hostile work environment. They may easily be unaware that one of their employees is being sexually harassed, but being unaware does not protect them or their organization. If investigators believe a manager could have known about the harassment, both the manager and the company can be held liable.