A qualitative study on the development of workplace bullying: Towards a three way model

Up to now, researchers have identified various individual and work‐related factors as potential antecedents of workplace bullying. The aim of the present study is to integrate this line of research in view of explaining how these antecedents may develop into workplace bullying. Key informants, such as union representatives, employees with a confidence role concerning workplace bullying, human resource managers, prevention workers and social service employees, analysed bullying incidents or cases within their organization. We combined the various perspectives on the same incident into one plan. Then, all 87 case plans were united in a global model that reflects the development towards bullying. The results suggested three processes that may contribute to the development of bullying. Firstly, bullying may result from inefficient coping with frustration. Such coping mechanisms are likely to be active for perpetrators, and passive for victims. Secondly, bullying may be the consequence of escalated conflicts. Thirdly, bullying may result from destructive team and organizational cultures or habits. Individual and work‐related antecedents may affect these processes in two ways: they may be at the origin of the three processes, and they may relate to the employees' coping style. Implications for theory and research are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

员工社会身份差异对职场欺负感知的影响:团队认同的中介作用

以社会认同理论为基础,通过对制造业22个团队的331名员工进行问卷调查,探讨一线员工在团队内的社会身份差异(性别差异和地域差异)对其职场欺负感知的影响,以及团队认同在这一影响中的中介作用。结果表明,员工的社会身份差异对其职场欺负感知的五个维度均有显著性影响,团队认同在社会身份差异对权利剥夺型欺负的影响中未起到中介作用;而在性别差异对社会排斥型欺负的影响中,团队认同起到完全中介作用。。     

Towards a conceptual and empirical differentiation between workplace bullying and interpersonal conflict

This study investigates the defining features that distinguish workplace bullying from interpersonal conflict – being frequency, negative social behaviour, power imbalance, length and perceived intent – by contrasting the characteristics of conflict incidents in a group of workplace bullying victims versus a group of non-victims. A group of 47 victims and 62 non-victims were identified based on a questionnaire time 1 and time 2 (time lag of 6 months). The conflict incidents were assessed between time 1 and time 2 using an event-based diary study that was filled out for a period of two times 20 working days with a break of 4 months in between. Hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) showed that conflict incidents differed for victims versus non-victims, in line with the defining aspects of workplace bullying: victims’ conflict incidents related more to the work context and included more personal and work-related negative social behaviour. Victims perceived more inferiority and less control in the conflicts, indicated more continuation of previous conflict incidents and reported more negative intentions from their opponent. These findings validate the conceptual differentiation between interpersonal conflict and workplace bullying, while at the same time adhering to their related nature.     

Work-role psychosocial flourishing: Its mediation role on workplace bullying and employee turnover intention

The study investigated the work-role of psychosocial flourishing attributes in countering workplace bullying behaviour and turnover intention. Data on participants’ perceptions of workplace bullying behaviour, turnover intentions, and psychosocial flourishing were collected from n = 373 employees in various South African organisations. Simple mediation modelling was utilised to determine psychosocial flourishing effects on workplace bullying - turnover intention. The results showed strong perceptions of workplace bullying to be related to high turnover intention with psychosocial flourishing partially explaining lower levels of turnover intent from strong perceptions of workplace bullying. Work-role psychological flourishing might be beneficial to workplace health and psychological safety as well as for reducing unwanted turnover.     

Longitudinal relationships between workplace bullying,basic psychological needs,and employee functioning: a simultaneous investigation of psychological need satisfaction and frustration

The aim of this cross-lagged study was to provide new insight into the interplay between workplace bullying, basic psychological needs (for autonomy, competence, and relatedness), and employee functioning. Based on new developments in self-determination theory (SDT) research, we simultaneously examined the temporal relationships between workplace bullying, need satisfaction and frustration, as well as two indicators of psychological functioning: life satisfaction and psychosomatic complaints. Data were collected at two time points over a 12-month period from a sample of 508 Canadian nurses. Results suggest that bullying not only negatively predicted satisfaction for the needs of autonomy and competence, it actively frustrated all three needs. Frustration of the needs for competence and relatedness as well as satisfaction of the need for relatedness also predicted the psychological functioning of employees exposed to bullying behaviour over time. Taken together, the results suggest that evaluating need frustration provides in-depth insight into the detrimental effects of bullying on employees’ psychological inner resources and may explain the impoverishment of employees’ psychological functioning when confronted with bullying behaviour. The implications for the bullying and SDT literature are discussed.     

Bullying in Danish work-life: Prevalence and health correlates

Given the pioneering role of Scandinavian research in the field of bullying at work, it is surprising that Danish researchers have largely ignored this problem. Presumably, this has led to a situation where many Danish company managers and unions ignore the high individual and organizational costs of workplace bullying. An additional effect of this lack of research is that it has been difficult to estimate the extent to which the prevalence of bullying varies in different sectors of Danish work-life. Furthermore, the scarcity of research has impeded us from determining whether a low prevalence of bullying is a general characteristic of Scandinavian work-life as indicated by previous Swedish and Norwegian studies. Yet again, making such between-nations comparisons in the prevalence of workplace bullying is difficult given the tendency amongst researchers to employ different ways of measuring bullying. The aims of the present study were: (1) to assess the prevalence of bullying in Danish work-life; (2) to investigate if exposure to bullying behaviours at work is related to self-reported psychological and psychosomatic stress symptoms; (3) to examine potential differences in the prevalence of bullying in various work sectors; (4) to explore the hypothesis that, generally, Scandinavian work-life is characterized by low levels of bullying; and (5) to investigate the extent to which using different criteria for assessing bullying results in disparate prevalence estimates. Results showed that 2-4% of the respondents reported being victims of bullying, in most cases only occasionally. Compared to self-reported bullying, prevalence levels based on an operational definition of bullying (i.e., weekly exposure to one act for at least 6 months) were higher in all the samples, between 8% and 25%. When using a more strict criterion of two acts a week, these figures were significantly reduced. Exposure to bullying was found to be associated with increased self-reported strain reactions.     

Victimization in the school and the workplace: Are there any links?

We examine whether reported roles in school bullying, and victimization in the workplace, are connected; the influence of victim coping strategies at school; and sex differences. A questionnaire was completed by 5,288 adults from various workplace venues in Great Britain. We analysed two questions on school experiences (participant role; coping strategies if bullied) and questions on workplace bullying (experiences of being bullied). We found a significant relationship between reported roles in school bullying, and experience of workplace victimization. The highest risk of workplace victimization was for those who were both bullies and victims at school (bully/victims), followed by those who were only victims. An analysis of relative risk of workplace bullying, given being a victim at school plus using various coping strategies, revealed an increased risk for the strategies ‘tried to make fun of it’, and ‘did not really cope’. Women were at slightly higher risk of getting bullied at work, but there were no interactions with roles at school, and only one interaction with coping strategies. This is the first study to report an association between school and workplace bullying. Victims at school are more at risk of workplace victimization, but the especial risk for ‘bully/victims’ supports other indications that this particular category of school pupils should be a focus of concern. The findings also suggest that school pupils who consistently cannot cope with bullying, or try to make fun of the bullying, are more at risk for later problems in the workplace. However, associations are modest; many victims of school bullying are not being victimized in later life, and the results also suggest important contextual or environmental effects on risks of victimization.     

South Korean culture and history: The implications for workplace bullying

This paper began by suggesting that culture might influence how people construe workplace bullying. Referring back to the studies of cultural differences in cognition, it was suggested that people of the Far East might construe workplace bullying differently from the people of Western countries. Taking South Korean culture as an example, this paper explained how historical background and culture shaped Korean's psyche in relation to workplace bullying. Currently available evidence was discussed including the way Koreans construed workplace bullying and how close social bonding might act as a buffer against a conflict escalating into bullying.     

Whistleblowing of bullying in professional football: To report or not to report?

Only recently has research begun to focus on workplace bullying within organizations outside of traditional white-collar industries, such as professional football. While this is an important development, there remains a lack of understanding around the reporting of bullying in professional sport. In this paper, the authors explore how the professional football workplace shapes perceptions of whistleblowing and unearths individual perceptions around reporting bullying behavior. We used a phenomenological approach to gain rich experiential data from eighteen male professional football players in the UK. Interview data were analyzed in accordance with the principles of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Two superordinate themes were identified from the analysis, (a) professional football’s influence on whistleblowing, and (b) the challenges of reporting bullying. These themes highlighted that the unique, institutionalized nature of professional football interacts with participants’ ability to report bullying behavior. The participants’ accounts revealed divergent perceptions around how professional football shapes the degree to which players feel they can report bullying behavior. It was apparent that the authoritarian, often abusive and intimidatory nature of professional football significantly impacts whistleblowing. Our findings demonstrate the importance of workplace context when exploring the reporting of bullying behavior. They also demonstrate the need to address organizational culture and differentiate bullying education programs to alternative workplaces.     

Role stressors and exposure to workplace bullying: Causes or consequences of what and why?

Stressful working environments are commonly assumed to create conditions that can lead to bullying. Although environmental factors may relate to both exposure to and perpetration of workplace bullying, empirical knowledge is still limited regarding how environmental factors and bullying is causally linked. In line with interpretations of previous cross-sectional findings, the present study investigated an individual-level target-oriented model of role stressors as antecedents of exposure to workplace bullying, applying a two-wave longitudinal sample of the Norwegian working population. Results from structural regression analyses failed to identify any significant relationships between the role stressors and subsequent exposure to workplace bullying. However, prior exposure to workplace bullying accounted for subsequent variation in role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload alike. The findings of the present study question conclusions regarding causality made in previous cross-sectional research on work-related factors as antecedents of exposure to workplace bullying. We argue that future research may benefit from adopting multilevel and actor-oriented perspectives in order to more fully understand how causal relationships between environmental factors and workplace bullying unfold.     

The impact of perceived effort–reward imbalance on workplace bullying: also a matter of organizational identification

Work environments characterized by inadequate work conditions have been widely recognized as being particularly prone to the occurrence and exacerbation of bullying behavior. Accordingly, this longitudinal study aimed to explore whether the impact of effort–reward imbalance (ERI) on workplace bullying was mediated by a lower perception of organizational justice, and whether the association between ERI and perceptions of justice was moderated by organizational identification. In the current study, a sample of N = 195 Spanish employees from different occupational sectors filled in an online questionnaire at two different times with a time lag of 8 months. In line with the hypothesized moderated mediation model, results showed that organizational justice mediated the impact of ERI on workplace bullying. Moreover, the effect of perceived ERI on organizational justice was stronger for employees with low organizational identification. Overall, this study can contribute to better understanding how and when ERI boosts the risk of workplace bullying. Accordingly, early intervention designed to buffer the negative effects of ERI should focus on increasing individual levels of organizational identification.     

Women's experiences of workplace bullying: changes in social relationships

This article reports a qualitative study, which investigated social processes in workplace bullying, based on in‐depth interviews with ten British women professionals who were targets of workplace bullying. Data were analysed using grounded theory methods. The resulting analysis showed links between disclosures of bullying, reactions of others, and some impacts on targets' psychological health. Key themes which emerged from the data included ‘being heard’ which describes how others reacted to disclosures of bullying behaviours, and the ‘ripple effect’ which describes how bullying impacted upon targets' significant others; these predominantly describe relationships with others outside the workplace. The theme of ‘withdrawal’ describes how targets and others managed relationships within the workplace, and ‘denial’ and ‘personalizing problems’ describe how others within the workplace responded to knowledge of bullying behaviours. The theme ‘maintaining self’ describes how participants responded to changed relationships and struggled to maintain a coherent sense of self during and subsequent to bullying. This research emphasizes the role of social processes and social environments, rather than individual or personality characteristics, in explaining the development of workplace bullying and its impacts on targets. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bullying in work groups: The impact of leadership

The aim of this study is to examine whether and how laissez‐faire, transformational, and authentic leadership styles are related to the occurrence of bullying in work groups. It is hypothesized that the investigated leadership styles have direct associations, as well as indirect associations through group cohesion and safety perceptions, with indicators of bullying among subordinates. Using a cross‐sectional survey design, the variables were assessed in a randomly selected sample comprising 594 seafarers from two Norwegian shipping companies. Laissez‐faire leadership was associated with an increased risk of exposure to bullying behavior, self‐labeled victimization from bullying, and perpetrated bullying. Transformational leadership and authentic leadership were related to decreased risk of exposure to bullying behavior. Authentic leadership contributed to the variance in bullying beyond laissez‐faire and transformational leadership. Analyses of indirect effects showed that the association between transformational leadership and bullying was fully mediated through safety perceptions, whereas a partial indirect association through safety perceptions was found for authentic leadership. This study makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing evidence for how leadership styles predict workplace bullying. The findings highlight the importance of recruiting, developing, and training leaders who promote both positive psychological capacities and positive perceptions among their subordinates.     

The experience of bullying in Great Britain: The impact of organizational status

This study explores some epidemiological features of bullying in Great Britain by means of a large-scale, nationwide survey, focusing on the differences in experience with regard to organizational status. Few differences were found for the experience of self-reported bullying between workers, supervisors, middle, or senior managers. The prevalence of bullying, duration of experience, status of perpetrator, whether the experience was shared with others or not, were similar across these organizational status groups. However, different factors may account for the experience of self-reported bullying for each of the organizational status groups. More discrepancies emerged when the behavioural experience of bullying was compared across groups. Workers and supervisors were more frequently exposed to negative acts than managers. They were also more likely to have been exposed to derogatory or exclusionary behaviour, whereas managers more frequently reported exposure to extreme work pressure. Moreover, when the results were adjusted for the possible impact of gender, a number of discrepancies between the organizational status groups emerged. The interaction between status and gender was explained by reference to cultural differences between men and women, the phenomenon of the ''glass-ceiling'' and the interaction between such factors and the prevailing socio-economic situation.     

Testing the Work Environment Hypothesis of Bullying on a Group Level of Analysis: Psychosocial Factors as Precursors of Observed Workplace Bullying

The present paper scrutinises the work environment hypothesis of bullying by examining relationships between psychosocial factors at work and bullying within departments on a group level of analysis, as compared to the many studies executed on an individual level of analysis. Relationships between quantitative demands, job control, role demands, leadership behaviour and social climate, and observed bullying were studied in a convenience sample consisting of 276 departments with a total of 4,064 respondents. Between‐group bivariate correlations showed relatively strong relationships (r > .52) between the predictors social climate, leadership behaviour, and role demands, respectively, and observed bullying in the department. A two‐factor higher‐level model was formulated for the independent variables yielding two latent factors reflecting an interpersonal domain and a task‐oriented domain, where the former was strongly associated with observed bullying at a group level of analysis (Beta =?.73), while the last factor yielded an insignificant contribution. The results confirm that a poor social work environment exists within departments in which bullying takes place, hence, yielding further support to the work environment hypothesis. In line with the present results, future studies on workplace bullying should include a group level of analysis.     

Vertical vs horizontal bullying: A need of socio‐interactive ethical trainings at workplace

Bullying at workplaces is a growing problem associated with several antecedents and outcomes of psychological disorders. Extant literature shows the relationship of victimization with the owning‐up curriculum to confront bullying, but so far there is little research to cure the issue of bullying through ethics and there is no study to check the impact of ethical lessons and exercises in training materials to curb bullying at workplace. The current paper is based on a literature review of aggression and bullying, and chiefly addresses the HR practices in rescuing the people from peer victimization. Conceptually segregating supervisor‐subordinate (vertical) and peer‐peer (horizontal) bullying psychology, this paper attempts to see what possible corrective steps can be taken by senior managers, supervisors and psychologists to resolve this critical problem through interior capacities. In this paper, we have developed three propositions for conducting a future empirical investigation in connection to a cohort study. By addressing the counterproductive/deviant behavior, the present report is likely to be beneficial for psychology scientists and HR practitioners in noticing and resolving the bullying issues at the workplace for the well‐being of employees.     

Managers' perceptions of workplace romances: An interview study

Although workplace romances occur frequently, no research has directly examined managers' perceptions of these relationships. In this study, managers (N=30) were interviewed about workplace romances. Included in these interviews were questions about organizational policies regarding these relationships, knowledge of prior or current workplace romances, and reactions to workplace romances and the participants in those relationships. Managers also responded to 12 items designed to assess the effect of different characteristics of workplace romances on perceptions of the need for management intervention. Responses to these items indicated that managers were most likely to recommend intervention when the relationship occurred between unequal organizational status participants, and it was negatively affecting the work group. The hypothesis that women managers would respond more negatively than would male managers to workplace romances was not supported. Factors that may affect managers' reactions to participants in workplace romances are discussed.This paper is based on research conducted by the first author with the direction of the second author. Funding was provided by the Psychology Department and Office of Research Services at Bowling Green State University.     

Antecedents and consequences of workplace bullying: a longitudinal analysis with a structural equation model

Most studies focusing on the antecedents and consequences of workplace bullying have used a cross-sectional design, which impedes determining the causality of the relationships. In the present work, we analyzed, by means of structural equation models, the relationship between workplace bullying and some variables that are considered antecedents (interpersonal conflicts, role ambiguity, role conflict, and workplace social support) or consequences (health complaints and inclination to absenteeism from work) of this phenomenon. Multicenter study with two phases. The sample consisted of 696 employees from 66 centers. Workplace bullying was assessed by means of the "Mobbing-UNIPSICO" questionnaire, and the other variables with frequency scales. The cross-sectional models indicated a significant association between role conflict, workplace social support, and workplace bullying in both study periods. Concerning the longitudinal relationships, only workplace social support was a significant predictor of workplace bullying, which, in turn, was a cross-sectional and longitudinal predictor of workers' health complaints. Our results show the mediating effect of workplace bullying between certain work conditions and health complaints, and it is recommendable to replicate these findings in a multi-occupational sample.     

Risk factors of workplace bullying for men and women: The role of the psychosocial and physical work environment

Workplace bullying has been shown to be a severe social stressor at work, resulting in high costs both for the individuals and organizations concerned. The aim of this study is to analyze risk factors in a large, nationally representative sample of Finnish employees (n = 4,392). The study makes three important contributions to the existing literature on workplace bullying: first, it demonstrates the role of the physical work environment alongside the psychosocial work environment – employees with a poor physical work environment are more likely than others to report having been subjected to or having observed bullying. Second, contrary to common assumptions, the results suggest that performance‐based pay is associated with a lower, rather than higher risk of bullying. Third, the findings suggest that there are gender differences in risk factors, thereby constituting a call for more studies on the role of gender when identifying risk factors. Increased knowledge of risk factors is important as it enables us to take more effective measures to decrease the risk of workplace bullying.     

The prospective relationship between role stressors and new cases of self‐reported workplace bullying

In line with the “Work environment hypothesis,” role stressors have been proposed as important antecedents of bullying in the workplace. Only a few longitudinal studies on the relationship between role stressors and bullying exist, however, and earlier studies have largely been cross‐sectional. The aim of the present prospective study was to determine whether role stressors at baseline predict new cases of workplace bullying at follow‐up. A total of 2,835 Norwegian employees participated at both baseline and follow‐up, with an interval of two years between the measurements. The study supports the hypotheses that role ambiguity and role conflict, independently, contribute to subsequent new reports of workplace bullying. However, there was a weak reverse effect: reporting being bullied at work at baseline predicted reporting increased levels of role ambiguity and role conflict at follow‐up. Even though the results may indicate a circular relationship between the variables at hand, the weak reverse relationship seems to have little practical impact compared to the stronger relationship from role stressors to bullying. Hence, the results mainly support the hypotheses stating that role ambiguity and role conflict, independently, predict subsequent exposure to workplace bullying.