Workplace bullying and organizational culture in a post‐transitional country

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of the study is to explore how organizational culture influences occurrences of workplace bullying in Estonia as a post‐transitional country. Another objective is to produce comprehensive empirical evidence of bullying in the specific cultural context.Design/methodology/approachThe survey is based on the internationally well‐known research instrument, the Negative Acts Questionnaire Revised (NAQ‐R) (Mikkelsen and Einarsen) and the Questionnaire of Organizational Culture (QOC) (Vadi et al.).FindingsVictims of bullying: 22 percent – at least one negative act per week; 9.3 percent – at least two negative acts per week; 0.6 percent – by definition (several times per week or daily); 8 percent – by definition (occasionally). The results reveal a clear negative relationship between bullying and task and relationship orientation of organizational culture.Practical implicationsThe present study indicates clear factors at the organizational level where the preventive actions are needed to diminish the negative impact of bullying on employee's well‐being and encourages a discussion and further studies of workplace bullying in post‐transitional countries.Originality/valueIn Estonia and in other post‐transitional countries workplace bullying has not yet been studied closely. This study provides a comprehensive approach of workplace bullying related to organizational culture in a post‐transitional country.