"Workplace Negative Acts and Public Sector Work: Antecedents, Consequences and Strategies"

Abstract

This symposium explores the antecedents and consequences of negative workplace activities for a diverse range of employees working in varied public sector/non-profit contexts in different OECD countries including USA, UK, Australia and Italy. Negative workplace activities range from non-physical activities such as gossiping, continual criticism, innuendo, scapegoating, intimidation, work harassment and withholding information required to do the job; to physical acts involved in bullying. All negative workplace activities share a common characteristic of being repetitive and not one-off and all are similar in causing a defining outcome - they all cause varying degrees of negative impact on their victims. The following five papers deal with different facets of negative workplace activities. The first and last papers have a similar theme in identifying the incidence of negative workplace activities in the UK and Australia and in the case of the first paper, it identifies that the incidence of negative workplace activities is greater in public sector workplaces in the UK than private, or not-for-profit sectors. As such paper one and five identify the significant depth and breadth of negative workplace activities in the public sector across the UK and Australia. Paper two, three and four share a common theme in identifying the extent to which poor management/supervision is an antecedent of negative workplace activities for UK, USA, Australian and Italian employees. The second paper examine the types of negative workplace activities evident in non-for-profit settings in Ireland, whereas paper three and four examine consequences of negative workplace activities, with paper three focusing on the impact on nurse’s commitment and turnover intentions and paper four focusing on the impact on nurse’s wellbeing. Both the third and fifth papers identify a strategy for addressing negative workplace activities, with the third paper identifying the need for supervisors to be upskilled in forming and maintaining effective workplace relationships with their subordinates and the fifth paper suggesting that a starting point of addressing negative workplace activities is to change the perspectives of senior management. Negative Behaviours and Public Sector Contracts in Non Profit and Voluntary Organisations Presenter: Denise Currie; Queen's U. Presenter: Martin McCracken; U. of Ulster Presenter: Katharine Venter; Leicester U.