It's a research that is likely to infuriate your boss, if he's less competent than you -- undeserving executives tend to work among less qualified and socialable employees only to justify their job.

A team of international researchers has carried out a study and found that people who consider they do not deserve their job try to surround themselves with incompetent or less competent employees, to justify their privileged position.

"Their (bosses) tendency to work among less competent candidates could be based on the fact that they try to prevent the subordinates from becoming competition for them," the ScienceDaily quoted lead researcher Rosa Rodrguez Bailn.

On the other hand, the team found that qualified executives prefer to work with competent colleagues in jobs that imply responsibility.

In fact, the researchers from the University of Grenada in the United States and the University of Lovaina in Belgium came to the conclusion after analysing a group of 73 volunteer students -- the great majority (over 80 per cent) being women aged between 18 and 25 years.

Those who were involved in this study had the opportunity to exercise power. They were notified that they would be representatives at a conference of students, and that they could choose a partner to attend the event and work under their direct supervision.

The students were divided arbitrarily, half of them were told they deserved the granted power (legitimate) while the others were told they did not (illegitimate). All of them could choose between a very competent and sociable subordinate and a person with noticeably less competence and sociability.

Regardless of whom they chose (legitimate or illegitimate boss), the students clearly distinguished the privileged position of one candidate from the other.

The illegitimate bosses preferred the less competent and sociable candidates in a higher proportion than did the legitimate bosses. In addition to this, they requested more information about the candidate positively described than about the candidate described more negatively.

"Illegitimate bosses have similar opinions about their subordinates' qualities and aptitudes, in the same manner that the students that took part in this study formed their own during the experience," according to the researchers.