Amy Rees Anderson: Passive-aggressive behavior will destroy a company's culture

By Amy Rees Anderson

For the Deseret News

Published: Thursday, March 14 2013 1:20 p.m. MDT

Passive-aggressive behavior in any company is one of the most destructive cancers to a culture that ends up killing both a great company, and the self-esteem of the individuals working there.


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For any wondering what passive-aggressive behavior looks like, I will try and give some examples that paint a picture. A passive-aggressive person is someone who:

On the surface appears to be agreeable and supportive, but behind the scenes will backstab, undercut, and sabotage.

Constantly states that you can trust their words when their actions have consistently shown that not to be true.

Makes promises about things when they have no intention of ever following through, often then blaming things that were “out of their control” for precluding them from being able to fulfill their promise.


States “I was supportive of you, but this other person wasn’t so there is nothing I can do” in order to place blame on someone else rather than voicing their own lack of support for the matter.


Withholds important information from other employees in order to make themselves appear more important and more valuable and in an attempt to make others around them fail.

Uses sarcasm or humor to make fun of someone else so they can hide behind an “I was just kidding” attitude, when really they meant every word.

Wants everyone to believe that they are their biggest supporter and advocate, refusing to be honest and direct with their true feelings.

Recently, I observed a company where passive-aggressive behavior is rapidly becoming embedded into the culture of the organization. The behavior appeared to initially stem from several members of upper management, and it quickly began to permeate throughout all levels of the company.

As employees observed their coworkers getting rewarded for passive-aggressive behavior, they either took the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” road, or they began seeking employment opportunities elsewhere in order to escape the toxic environment.

As the toxic behavior spread, employees started becoming depressed and despondent. What had once been a company that employees were excited to be a part of became nothing more than a paycheck they would collect until something better came along.

Observing this cancer as it spread throughout the organization was unbelievably painful, especially as I watched the impact to those great individuals that were trying desperately to “hang in there” out of loyalty to their clients and loyalty to the business they once loved.

So why would any company tolerate this type of behavior? Why would any leader allow such destructive, dishonest behavior from the people they lead?

The sad fact is that in large organizations, too often the leader becomes busy and disconnected as to what is happening under their watch. Some leaders even adopt the “I don’t really want to know” attitude because they are already feeling overwhelmed themselves, and knowing about it would mean they have a responsible to fix it. Other leaders may be surrounded by an entire team of passive-aggressive executives who tell them everything is great even when it’s really not.

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