Is it okay to feel ‘schadenfreude’ at work? Here’s how to navigate this complex emotion

Have you ever felt delighted (perhaps secretly) when something went wrong for someone else? We may not openly admit it, but many of us have probably felt this way – sometimes intentionally, sometimes unconsciously.

This feeling has a name, borrowed into English from German: “schadenfreude”. And workplaces or other business settings – with all their pressures, rivalries and office politics – can create the ideal conditions for it to arise.

Here’s why we sometimes feel happy at others’ failures, why this emotion can have double-edged consequences, and how it can be reframed to promote learning and personal growth.

What is schadenfreude?

Schadenfreude is a compound word formed from two German nouns: “schaden”, meaning harm, and “freude”, meaning joy.

Importantly, here, we’re talking about something distinct from bullying, or actively causing another person pain.

Research has shown schadenfreude is relatively common in the workplace. It can be found among employees at all hierarchical levels, from lower-level staff to senior management.

For an employee, it might occur when seeing a rival or envied coworker being mistreated by a supervisor.

Similarly, top managers might feel schadenfreude when rivals fail. Our previous research indicates strategic leaders, including chief executives and other strategic level decision-makers, are prone to this emotion.

To investigate this further, our current research is exploring how Australian chief executives respond to competitors’ failure, with a particular focus on how they perceive and experience schadenfreude.

Our preliminary findings, which are yet to be peer-reviewed, suggest leaders recognise schadenfreude as a feeling that arises when a rival organisation encounters misfortune, especially in a competitive industry.

This was evident in their reflections on the PwC tax scandal and the 2022 Optus data breach, when they viewed these organisations as rivals. For instance, one participant explained:

Well, I think human nature again would dictate that you would be going, oh, the competitor, you haven’t done very well […] You can’t help but kind of rub your hands together and say, well, we’re going to get some customers out of this.

On face value, schadenfreude might seem emotionally counterintuitive. Ethically, one might expect that witnessing someone else in distress would elicit a response of empathy or compassion.

So, why is the observer experiencing pleasure or delight instead? Is it a brief lapse in empathy and moral judgement, or is something else going on?

Easing our insecurities

Feelings of schadenfreude can have many drivers. One of the foremost relates to insecurity.

Observing someone performing worse than yourself might 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 enhance self-esteem.

High achievers’ failures are particularly noticeable because they are perceived as being at the top of their field.

Schadenfreude may be reflected in the cultural phenomenon of “tall poppy syndrome”, a tendency to “cut down” those who stand out.

Perceptions of deservingness can also drive this emotion. When someone acts unethically or appears undeserving of success and then faces failure, observers often feel they “got what they deserved”.

Identification with a particular organisation can also drive schadenfreude. If employees feel a strong connection to their organisation, they may view rivals as “out-groups”, making competitors’ misfortunes feel like wins that enhance their organisational pride.

Schadenfreude’s perils

There are a range of hazards to watch out for when navigating this emotion.

First, feeling schadenfreude may lead to overconfidence at work. When employees or managers perceive their success as relative to others’ failure, they might become complacent, overlook changes and develop blind spots.

Second, schadenfreude can spread through gossip and harm workplace relationships.

If colleagues sense that you take pleasure in their difficulties, they may feel unsafe sharing failures or challenges. This can undermine openness and mutual support, damaging trust and relationships within the organisation.

And third, it can undermine workplace empathy. Employees or managers who take pleasure in others’ misfortune often fail to recognise the challenges their colleagues face.

By prioritising personal satisfaction or winning an advantage over showing compassion, they neglect to put themselves in others’ shoes, which can undermine the organisation’s supportive and overall ethical climate.

A double-edged sword

It may feel like a complex, dark emotion. But by recognising its drivers and meeting it with mindfulness, schadenfreude can be channelled into a positive opportunity for learning and growth.

When you recognise what you’re feeling is schadenfreude, you can pause and think: “Is this really how I want to respond?”, or “Is this really me?”

You might ask yourself reflective questions, such as:

• Could something like this 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 of and mindful about this emotion can give you the chance to shift from simply enjoying others’ failures to learning from them, improve yourself, address your own weaknesses, and prepare for future challenges without losing your moral values.