Workers' perception of workplace bullying: A cross-cultural study

This study is one of the first studies to approach workplace bullying cross-culturally. It sought to compare employees' understanding of workplace bullying in two different world regions: Central America and Southern Europe, regarding three aspects of workplace bullying: psychological vs. physical harassment, hierarchical vs. horizontal bullying, and direct vs. indirect aggression. A convenience sample of 246 workers provided their own definition of workplace bullying through a single, open-ended question. The results showed that employees from Central America emphasized the physical component of workplace bullying more than the Southern European employees. However, similarities in the conceptualization of workplace bullying across both cultures were found as well. Both Southern European and Central American employees defined workplace bullying mainly as a hierarchical phenomenon, where the aggression took the form of direct strategies. Such differences and similarities bring to the field some positive inputs for the development and implementation of different strategies for dealing effectively with this phenomenon.     

Racial/ethnic bullying: Exploring links between bullying and racism in the US workplace

This study examined relations between the incidence of workplace bullying and the everyday experiences of members of ethnic and racial minorities in the American workplace. Particular attention was paid to expressions of bullying that overtly or specifically refer to race or ethnicity, in the form of more or less subtle acts of discrimination and hostile treatment, introducing the term `racial/ethnic bullying.' Participants belonging to four racial/ethnic groups (Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and whites) responded to a written survey of general and racial/ethnic bullying experiences, responses, and preferred modes and methods of internal organizational redress and dispute resolution. Very different profiles emerged between bullying perpetrated by supervisors/superiors versus co-workers/peers in the organization.     

Shortcomings of antibullying regulations: The case of Sweden

By means of a qualitative study, the article examines the possible reasons for the apparent shortcomings and limited success of the Swedish statutory regulations against workplace bullying which pioneered and inspired statutory antibullying regulations in other countries following its enactment in 1993. Semistructured interviews were carried out with 18 participants, each with extensive knowledge and experience of the issue, representing employer and trade-union organizations, enforcement authorities, academia, and victim-support organizations. A range of potential reasons for its limited success emerged from the study, encompassing shortcomings associated with the involvement (or lack of involvement) of key actors—employers, trade unions, and labour inspectorate, and with the antibullying regulatory framework itself. In addition, some cultural and socioeconomic conditions may also have hampered its effectiveness and success. In light of these findings the study raises questions about how to regulate for intangible issues such as bullying. However, the Swedish Ordinance against bullying has contributed to giving the issue credibility. Yet, in order to be successful, legal interventions must be accompanied by well-informed, trained, and motivated employers and trade unions who, in collaboration, are willing to deal with the problem proactively on an organizational level as well as responding to individual cases when they occur, supported by an enforcement agency or inspectorate which is equipped and geared up for its role.     

Social mobbing calls in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): effects of experience and associated cortisol levels

We compared the mobbing response to model snakes of two groups of captive-born common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) differing in genetic relatedness, age and past experience. Mobbing vocalisations (tsik calls), other mobbing behaviour and attention to the stimulus were recorded for 2 min. intervals pre-exposure, during exposure to various stimuli and post-exposure. Marmosets in one group were vocally reactive to all stimuli, although more so to one particular stimulus resembling rearing snakes and modified images of it, whereas the marmosets in a younger and genetically unrelated group attended to the stimuli but made very few mobbing calls. The parent stock of the first group had suffered stress in early life and had developed a phobic response to a specific stimulus, which they had transmitted to their offspring. A third group, matching the older group in age range but genetically unrelated, was also found to be unresponsive to the stimulus that elicited the strongest response in the first group. Cortisol levels in samples of hair were assayed and a significant negative correlation was found between the number of tsik calls made during presentation of the stimuli and the cortisol level, showing that mobbing behaviour/behavioural reactivity is associated with low levels of physiological stress.     

Conflicts and conflict management styles as precursors of workplace bullying: A two-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

The psychological contract is currently a popular concept. It has been used in several recent analyses of individuals' careers. However, there are a number of unresolved conceptual and empirical issues surrounding the psychological contract. These are described and discussed. The main issues concern the extent to which the psychological contract between employee and employer is mutual, the importance or otherwise of the promissory element, the distinction between transactional and relational contracts, and the detection of, and response to, contract violation. It is concluded that the psychological contract is probably a valuable concept, but that it needs more careful definition and more rigorous empirical testing.