Towards a Behavioral Description of Managerial Bullying

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to present a first step toward developing a behavioral description of managerial bullying that better distinguishes among (1) behavior that is bullying, versus (2) other unacceptable behavior that is not bullying, and (3) aggressive but nevertheless acceptable managerial behavior. The study was based on a survey using SurveyMonkey© and announced through social media (LinkedIn©, Twitter©, Facebook©) groups identified with workplace violence or bullying. The survey consisted of critical incidents of behaviors that employees had specifically identified as “bad management,” plus respondent characteristics that might explain their responses. The results show that workplace bullying in the U.S. workplace is a serious problem that is seldom reported to management. Neither age, gender, experience, language at home, having bullied, nor having been bullied seems to influence what a subject regards as bullying behavior, but negative managerial behavior directed at a particular employee especially in the presence of others is highly likely to be seen as bullying. To develop a theory of managerial bullying, further research needs to be directed toward the causes of workplace bullying, specifically the interaction of elements of the workplace itself as well as characteristics of both the perpetrator and the victim and external influences (workplace, perpetrator, victim, external conditions). Meanwhile, organizations should develop and enforce anti-bullying policies and training programs that use specific behaviors, such as those identified here, to clarify how the organization defines workplace bulling.