CRAB MENTALITY AND ITS RISKS TO THE WORKPLACE
Ali, H.; Braga, I.; Orellina, J.; Relloso, R.; Restauro, I.; Ubas, G.; & Verallo, R.
An old story has it that a western tourist visiting Asia came across a vendor selling crabs
in several baskets with all but one of them covered. When asked why he was not worried that the
crabs in the open basket would escape, the vendor explained: “Oh, those are Filipino crabs. The
crabs in the other baskets would help each other out if left open, but when any Filipino crab
manages to move up the basket’s edge, its companions would promptly pull it down. So, there’s
no need to cover the basket.”
One compromising attitude that Filipinos are known to have is the infamous ‘crab
mentality’. Simply put, this refers to the behavior of preventing someone from achieving
something due to jealousy or envy. Instead of giving praises and rendering assistance to
someone, a person with crab mentality would think “if I can’t have it, then you can’t have it as
well” and would purposely try to drag his/her victim down.
In an exploratory study entitled “The Crab-Bucket Effect and Its Impacts on Job Stress”,
Kumar and Soubhari (2013) suggest that the main reason why the issue on crab mentality should
be popularized is that many people are constantly pulling others down, denigrating them rather
than letting them get ahead or pursue their dreams. This social epidemic generates an unhealthy
employee rivalry, chastising the people for not cooperating and leading to envy and competitive
conspiracies at the workplace. While the reason for crab mentality is thought to be jealousy, and
a paucity of resources leading to perpetual competition, it also appears to be a behavioral trait
indulged in despite people knowing it to be disadvantageous not just to their field of work, but
also to themselves in an insurmountable level.
Consequently, this paper aims to prove that crab mentality poses a detrimental risk to the
workplace because it creates a division among the employees, it decreases the companies’
workforce productivity, and it increases the rate of work-related crimes.
In an interview, Mike Santos, a graduate of industrial psychology and currently a social
worker for the Filipino division of a non-profit organization based in Daly City, California,
asserts that if given the opportunity, he would rather work with whites or blacks because they are
performing a much healthier competition and are more professionals in the workplace (Vergara,
2009). Crab mentality continues to damage the image of Filipinos and has been considered as an
“inherent Filipino trait”. Retuya (2013) further supports this idea by stating the following:
It somehow disturbs me that “crab mentality” has become a norm in our society to a point
that we hardly even see it as a bad thing anymore and those who are against it are
considered not sociable and unfriendly (para. 2).
As this has become a compelling issue to date, it warrants a discussion on the risks that
crab mentality poses in the employees, in the companies, and in the Philippines.
Crab mentality is beneficial to the workplace for it promotes camaraderie and
recognition. Scientifically explained, according to Jetterr (2016) a crab escaping a basket is not
actually being pulled down to the bottom but in reality is being pushed up to the top of the
pyramid formed by the other crabs. The maneuver actually is a kind of reward or recognition of
the achiever; a salute to the stronger and daring member; actually a kind of appreciation for the
more adventurous and heroic crab in the clan. It is in fact a strategy for unity to keep the family
together.
However, crab mentality creates a division among the employees. It disrupts their
harmony since instead of building and maintaining a favorable relationship between them,they
are all competing with one another in an unhealthy and selfish manner.
Employees with crab mentality tend to focus solely on attaining their goal. Utilizing all
possible resources, they become so determined in the pursuit of their objectives, hardly noticing
that they have “stepped on other’s toes” along the process. Andersen (2007) suggests that
employees often use the phrase “stepping on other’s toes” to describe a person that seems to be
over-focused on what they need and prefer, or what will help them succeed – rather than what is
best for others or for the team. In other words, to “step on other’s toes” is to focus on
manipulating things for one’s own benefit, rather than the benefit of others.
In addition, Kamm (2000) uses the term “Prima Donnas” to describe highly productive
employees who consistently engage in self-centered, sometimes bullying behavior. Tolerating
this aforementioned behaviour seriously depresses the morale, productivity, and loyalty of other
employees. It lowers the general esteem that companies enjoy among their working population
by revealing bottom-line thinking as the only thing that really matters.
Some employees gain enemies in their work because of their envious attitude. According
to Lisa Martin, a talent maximization consultant based in Vancouver, British Columbia (as cited
in Klingensmith, 2010), boundaries are “imaginary lines that protect you and your goals and
interests from others”. Demeaning talks, rude interruptions, chronic tardiness, stealing credit and
unfair or unreasonable expectations are all signs of an envious attitude that can test a person’s
boundaries. This, in turn, creates conflicts among employees and lessens the chance of having an
efficient company and a productive workplace.
Crab mentality can motivate employees, make them put in more effort, and achieve
results. According to Todd (2016), competition increases physiological and psychological
activation which prepares the body and mind for an increased effort and higher performance. He
further points out that with competition arising in the workplace, employees will push to reach
deadlines, hit or exceed quality standards, and produce exemplary work in an effort to make
favorable impressions to their managers.
However, crab mentality decreases the companies’ workforce productivity. Employees
who are envious of their co-workers spend more time in figuring out why the discrepancy exists,
which ultimately affects their productivity levels.
Instead of improving their job performance and skills, employees will be too involved in
their own pressing matters. A study conducted by the University Of Cincinnati Lindner College
Of Business shows that employees who are jealous of how their co-workers are treated around
the office spend too much time trying to understand the differential treatment, and would end up
producing less each day than they otherwise could (Brooks, 2016). According to Joel Koopman,
author of the aforementioned study and a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of
management (as cited in Brooks, 2016), employees who take those feelings of jealousy home
with them often wake up the next morning still thinking about the issues. He further adds that
“this cycle can build to the point that tremendous time and energy is wasted on simply
processing negative emotions, leaving critical work projects to flounder until resolutions are
achieved” (para. 4).
For the abovementioned study, Koopman surveyed a group of participants twice a day for
15 days. He asked his participants how fairly they had been treated by their supervisors
compared to their co-workers. The surveys were designed to measure immediate feelings of envy
and whether those feelings carried over into the following day. Koopman further stated that those
envious feelings not only negatively affected employees' overall productivity, but also, if they
persisted, reduced the likelihood that employees would help co-workers with their projects or
listen to their personal problems (Brooks,2016).
Perceived discrimination and gossips can have a negative effect on the organization’s
bottom line. According to Nag (2016), they can hamper the main components of employee’s
behavior which are directly associated with job performance and might also result in a higher
incidence of grievances among the employees. Furthermore, a research from The University of
Salford suggests that gossiping at work can damage morale and make workers more cynical,
lowering productivity in around a sixth of all workers. Following through, previous studies have
found that employees with a higher level of cynicism are more likely to doubt and criticize their
co-employees’ strategies and to suspect the intention underlying the strategies, revealing where
discriminations and gossips could be seen to be damaging productivity (Wood, 2016).
Crab mentality boosts the motivation of employees to make other’s success a benchmark
of their own. Schaubroeck and Lam (2004) stress that when employees are envious of their
promoted colleagues, they tend to copy their level of effort which supports the adaptive function
of crab mentality. In their study conducted at a Hong Kong bank, unprompted tellers who
adapted their works to those who are promoted also performed better over the next five years.
However, crab mentality increases the rate of work-related crimes. Workplace violence is
now identified as a specific category of violent crime concerning employers, law enforcement,
and the community. It can be any form of murder, or other violent acts by a disturbed, aggrieved
employee or ex-employee against co-workers or even supervisors. Furthermore, work-related
crimes do not only destroy employee morale and productivity; it can also devastate a company --
leaving it vulnerable to bankruptcy. (Tolvin, 2015; Mueller, 2002).
Crab mentality creates an avenue for employees to commit acts of fraud. One instance of
this crime was when Philippine tribune, a Filipino community newspaper company, received an
email under the fictitious name Fidel Ramon, where he wrote in the subject line the words
“Congratulations on your success, Philippine Tribune!” The contents of the email were
obviously fabricated and meant to deceive all the people whom Ramon sent the malicious mail,
claiming that Philippine Tribune has “garnished over $77,400″ per year over the past nine years.
Without an iota of evidence, he declared that the newspaper charges over $7,000 for a full page
advertisement. The advertisers paying Philippine tribune knew that this was a lie; hence, Fidel
Ramon's IP address and home location were immediately tracked by the company's computer
experts, as well as his real identity. Currently, fraud charges are being prepared for this person,
whom Philippine Tribune identified, was a former employee of their company (Crescini, 2008).
Crab mentality causes employees to perform acts of murder. One recent example of this
crime was when Engineer Glen Daclan, an Engineering System Planning Chief of the Davao del
Norte Electric Cooperative, Incorporated (DANECO) was shot dead last August 24,2017 at
Purok 1-C, Barangay San Jose Poblacion, Montevista in Compostela Valley. The victim was
eating lunch at Purok 1-C when two men onboard a motorcycle shot and killed him on the spot.
Currently, investigation is still ongoing to determine the motive of the crime and to identify the
suspects (Compio, 2017). However, the interesting part came into play when it was discovered
that DANECO was preparing Daclan for his promotion as the overall manager of the
cooperative. With such, it can be clearly said that the aforementioned crime is a classic example
of crab mentality.
Crab mentality poses a detrimental risk not just to the workforce, but to the entire
company as well. Albeit it promotes camaraderie and recognition, motivates employees, makes
them put in more effort, and achieve results, and boosts their motivation to make other’s success
a benchmark of their own, the risks that crab mentality raises are insurmountable. Crab mentality
creates a division among the employees, decreases the companies’ workforce productivity, and
increases the rate of work-related crimes. With all of these being said, companies and other
organizations must take an immediate action to address this issue by implementing activities that
will rebuild the harmony and generate a strong sense of trust, solidarity, and teamwork among
their employees. Crab mentality creates ripples that go beyond what is done to a particular
victim. It damages relationships and further stains the image of multiple cultures. And for a
culture like the Philippines, it would not take too much time for crab mentality to drag it down.
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