Have you ever felt satisfied (perhaps secretly) when something goes wrong for someone else? We may not admit it openly, but many of us have probably felt it, sometimes intentionally and sometimes unconsciously.
This feeling has a name, taken from German to English: “schadenfreude.” And workplaces or other business environments, with all their pressures, rivalries and office politics, can create the ideal conditions for it to emerge.
Here we explain why we sometimes rejoice at other people’s failures, why this emotion can have double-edged consequences, and how it can be reinterpreted to encourage learning and personal growth.
What is schadenfreude?
Schadenfreude is a word composed of two German nouns: “schaden,” which means harm, and “freude,” which means joy.
It is important to note that here we are talking about something other than harassment, or actively causing harm to another person.
Research has shown that schadenfreude is relatively common in the workplace. It can be found among employees at all hierarchical levels, from low-ranking staff to senior management.
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For an employee, it may occur from seeing a rival or envied colleague mistreated by a supervisor.
Similarly, top managers may feel schadenfreude when their rivals fail. Previous research indicates that strategic leaders, including CEOs and other strategic decision makers, are prone to this emotion.
To investigate this further, our current research explores how Australian CEOs react to competitor failure, with a particular focus on how they perceive and experience schadenfreude.
Our preliminary findings, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, suggest that leaders recognize schadenfreude as a feeling that arises when a rival organization faces misfortune, especially in a competitive industry.
This was evident in their reflections on the PwC tax scandal and the Optus data leak in 2022, when they perceived these organizations as rivals. For example, one participant explained:
“Well, I think human nature again dictates that you would say, oh, the competitor, you haven’t done very well (…) You can’t help but rub your hands together and say, well, let’s get some customers from this.”
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At first glance, schadenfreude may seem emotionally contradictory. Ethically, one might expect that witnessing another person’s suffering would elicit a response of empathy or compassion.
So why does the observer experience pleasure or joy instead? Is it a brief failure of empathy and moral judgment, or is there something more?
Relieving our insecurities
Schadenfreude can have many factors that motivate it. One of the main ones is related to insecurity.
Watching someone perform worse than you can make you feel better about your own abilities. This process is known as downward social comparison. In this way, for some people, schadenfreude can serve to increase self-esteem.
The failures of high performers are particularly egregious because they are perceived as the best in their field.
Schadenfreude can also be reflected in the cultural phenomenon of “tall poppy syndrome,” the tendency to “cut off” those who stand out.
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Perceptions of deservingness can also drive this emotion. When someone acts unethically or appears undeserving of success and then fails, observers often feel that they “got what they deserved.”
Identification with a particular organization can also lead to schadenfreude. If employees feel a strong connection to their organization, they may view rivals as “outgroups,” causing competitors’ misfortunes to be perceived as victories that increase their organizational pride.
The dangers of schadenfreude
There are several risks to consider when managing this emotion.
First, experiencing schadenfreude can lead to overconfidence at work. When employees or managers perceive their success as relative to the failure of others, they can become complacent, overlook changes, and develop blind spots.
Second, schadenfreude can spread through gossip and damage work relationships.
If colleagues perceive that you enjoy their difficulties, they may feel insecure about sharing failures or challenges. This can undermine openness and mutual support, damaging trust and relationships within the organization.
And third, it can weaken empathy at work. Employees or managers who take joy in the misfortune of others often fail to recognize the challenges their colleagues face.
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By prioritizing personal satisfaction or gaining an advantage over showing compassion, they neglect to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, which can affect the ethical and supportive climate of the organization.
A double edged sword
It can feel like a complex and dark emotion. But by recognizing its motivators and addressing it mindfully, schadenfreude can be channeled into a positive opportunity for learning and growth.
When you recognize that what you are feeling is schadenfreude, you can pause and think, “Is this really how I want to react?” or “Am I really me?”
You can ask yourself reflective questions, such as:
Could something similar happen to me too?
What went wrong for them and what can I learn from it?
How can I use this situation to improve myself or my decisions?
Being aware and reflective about this emotion gives you the opportunity to go from simply enjoying other people’s failures to learning from them, improving yourself, addressing your own weaknesses, and preparing for future challenges without losing your moral values.
This article was originally published by The Conversation
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