Possibly related but not a duplicate - "How does the personality of a successful leader influence the development of his children?"
Workplace behaviours and personality traits, e.g. passive-aggressive behaviours, can be highly influenced by family conflicts and childhood experiences. Blanch and Aluja (2009) distinguish between work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW):
Work–family conflict (WFC) has become an important dimension in the study of individual differences at work. This concept has been defined as a form of inter-role conflict in which the role pressures from work and family are mutually incompatible, identifying at least three types of WFC: time, strain and behaviour based conflict (Greenhaus & Beutell, 1985). Two main directions are generally considered in WFC research: work interfering with family (WIF), and family interfering with work (FIW) (Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992).
Conflicts in the family environment may contribute to passive-aggressive behaviours in the workplace. Rejection at home can influence personality traits of the individual (Rohner, 1980):
The rejected child is especially likely to become hostile, aggressive, or passive-aggressive if rejection takes the form of parental hostility.
Organisations cannot function optimally if its employees exhibit passive-aggressive behaviours that are a result of past or current family conflicts. These behaviours can have an impact on culture as well (Forbes, 2013). Passive-aggressive behaviours are becoming common in the workplace and I'm interested to know what are the antecedents of passive-aggressive behaviours in the workplace that arise from family conflicts and past childhood experiences.
Questions
- What are the antecedents for passive-aggressive behaviours in the workplace that are influenced by past or current family conflicts and early childhood experiences? And are there any supporting studies describing this link?
References
- Blanch, A. & Aluja, A. (2009). Work, family and personality: A study of work–family conflict. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 520-524
- Rohner, R.P. & Rohner, E.C. (1980). Antecedents and consequences of parental rejection: A theory of emotional abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 4, 189-198
- Forbes. (2013). "Passive-Aggressive Behavior Will Destroy a Company's Culture", http://www.forbes.com/sites/amyanderson/2013/03/06/passive-aggressive-behavior-will-destroy-a-companys-culture/
