When Toxicity Breeds Compliance: Sycophancy, Alienation, and the Transformation of Workplace Relations

Abstract

This study examines how workplace toxicity reshapes social relations in organizations by fostering sycophantic behaviors and reinforcing organizational alienation, ultimately influencing employee withdrawal. Moving beyond linear models of turnover, we draw on social exchange theory to conceptualize toxicity not merely as a stressor but as a relational condition that reconfigures patterns of interaction, power, and compliance. Using survey data from 239 employees in India and structural equation modeling, we test a mediated framework linking workplace toxicity, sycophancy, organizational alienation, and turnover intention. The findings reveal that workplace toxicity does not directly predict turnover intention; rather, it operates indirectly by encouraging sycophantic behaviors, which in turn intensify feelings of alienation. Organizational alienation emerges as a key mechanism translating these altered social dynamics into withdrawal intentions. These results challenge dominant assumptions that toxic environments lead to immediate exit, instead highlighting how employees may initially adapt through political compliance before disengaging. By foregrounding the relational and processual consequences of toxicity, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how organizational contexts produce compliance and disconnection. The findings offer critical insights into the reproduction of power and the erosion of authentic work relations in contemporary organizations.