Experienced Workplace Bullying Research Articles

Experiences of workplace bullying among ‘non-traditional’ students: Cause for concern for both business and education?

Abstract: Workplace bullying (WPB) has been identified as an insidious aspect of the contemporary work environment (Einarsen, Höel, Zapf, & Cooper, 2003). The present study had three related aims (i) to determine current and prior personal experience of WPB among a sample of 295 adults returning to tertiary education, (ii) to further explore the ‘work environment hypothesis’ (Einarsen, Raknes, & Matthiesen, 1994; Mc Guckin, Lewis, & Shevlin, under review) as an antecedent in the WPB process by examining the relationship between the ‘psychosocial workplace’ and exposure to WPB (Varhama & Björkqvist, 2004a, b; Varhama et al., 2010), and (iii) to explore the relationship between exposure to WPB and salient work and life attitude variables (Mc Guckin et al., under review). Overall, 32.4% (n = 93) of the respondents had been bullied in the previous 6 months, 42.1% (n = 120) had witnessed colleagues being bullied during this period, and 56.8% (n = 162) had been bullied in their previous career. The collective influence of the hypothesised antecedent variables (i.e., ‘Challenge’, ‘Social Climate’, ‘Leadership’, ‘Work Control’, ‘Work Load’, ‘Role Conflict’, and ‘Role Ambiguity’) explained a significant proportion of the variance in relation to self-reported personal experience of workplace bullying. Exposure to workplace bullying was significantly related to impaired ‘work and life attitudes’. Experiencias de bulling en el lugar de trabajo entre estudiantes ‘no tradicionales’: ¿Motivos de preocupación para la empresa y la educación? Resumen: El bullying en el lugar de trabajo (WPB) ha sido identificado como un aspecto insidioso de los ambientes de trabajo contemporáneos (Einarsen, Höel, Zapf, y Cooper, 2003). El presente estudio tuvo tres objetivos (i) determinar la experiencia previa y actual de bullying en el trabajo entre una muestra de 295 adultos que retomaron la educación terciaria, (ii) profundizar en la ‘hipó- tesis del ambiente de trabajo’ (Einarsen, Raknes, y Matthiesen, 1994; Mc Guckin, Lewis, y Shevlin, under review) como un antecedente en el proceso de WPB, examinando la relación entre ‘el ambiente psicosocial en el lugar de trabajo’ y la exposición a WPB (Varhama & Björkqvist, 2004a, b; Varhama et al., 2010), y (iii) explorar la relación entre la exposición al WPB y las variables de actitudes más sobresalientes hacia la vida y el trabajo (Mc Guckin et al., under review). En general, 32.4% (n = 93) de los participantes se había visto acosado en los 6 meses previos, 42.1% (n = 120) habían sido testigos del acoso de colegas durante el mismo periodo, y el 56.8% (n = 162) se habían visto acosados en su trayectoria profesional anterior. La influencia colectiva de las variables antecedentes hipotetizadas (i.e., ‘Desfío’, ‘Clima Social’, ‘Liderazgo’, ‘Supervisión del Trabajo’, ‘Carga de Trabajo’, ‘Conflicto de Rol’, y ‘Ambigüedad de Rol’) explicó una importante proporción de la varianza en relación con la experiencia personal autoinformada de bullying en el lugar de trabajo. La exposición al bullying en el trabajo estuvo significativamente relacionada con la insatisfacción de actitudes hacia la vida y el trabajo.

Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management

This article draws on a socio-anthropological research, which questions the effects of managerial discourse on the individual by considering experiences of workplace bullying. It studies the observation that despite the gap between what management says and what management does, words of managerial discourse are still widely used, by managers and employees alike. French philosopher, ethnologist and psychoanalyst Octave Mannoni (1899-1989), reworking Freud’s concept of fetishism, showed in an article entitled “I know very well, but nonetheless…” that a belief can survive the denial (disavowal) of reality. Recognizing fantasy as a fantasy is not sufficient to reduce its power over the individual. Based on a case study, the present article demonstrates that the paradoxical logic phrased by Octave Mannoni can help us understand how managerial discourse can exercise its influence on individuals, despite discrepancies between what is said and what is implemented in the organisations. It presents the hypothesis that words can work as “masks” do in some traditional tribes, thus being the means supporting a belief that sustains management authority.

Words as masks: About the importance of denial in management

This article draws on a socio-anthropological research, which questions the effects of managerial discourse on the individual by considering experiences of workplace bullying. It studies the observation that despite the gap between what management says and what management does, words of managerial discourse are still widely used, by managers and employees alike. French philosopher, ethnologist and psychoanalyst Octave Mannoni (1899-1989), reworking Freud’s concept of fetishism, showed in an article entitled “I know very well, but nonetheless…” that a belief can survive the denial (disavowal) of reality. Recognizing fantasy as a fantasy is not sufficient to reduce its power over the individual. Based on a case study, the present article demonstrates that the paradoxical logic phrased by Octave Mannoni can help us understand how managerial discourse can exercise its influence on individuals, despite discrepancies between what is said and what is implemented in the organisations. It presents the hypothesis that words can work as “masks” do in some traditional tribes, thus being the means supporting a belief that sustains management authority.

Rocking at 81 and Rolling at 34: ROC Cut-Off Scores for the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised in Serbia.

Researchers are still searching for the ways to identify different categories of employees according to their exposure to negative acts and psychological experience of workplace bullying. We followed Notelaers and Einarsen’s application of the ROC analysis to determine the NAQ-R cut-off scores applying a “lower” and “higher” threshold. The main goal of this research was to develop and test different gold standards of personal and organizational relevance in determining the NAQ-R cut-off scores in a specific cultural and economic context of Serbia. Apart from combining self-labeling as a victim with self-perceived health, the objectives were to test the gold standards developed as a combination of self-labeling with life satisfaction, self-labeling with intention to leave and a complex gold standard based on self-labeling, self-perceived health, life satisfaction and intention to leave taken together. The ROC analysis on Serbian workforce data supports applying of different gold standards. For identifying employees in a preliminary stage of bullying, the most applicable was the gold standard based on self-labeling and intention to leave (score 34 and higher). The most accurate identification of victims could be based on the most complex gold standard (score 81 and higher). This research encourages further investigation of gold standards in different cultures.

Effects of a Cognitive Rehearsal Program on Interpersonal Relationships, Workplace Bullying, Symptom Experience, and Turnover Intention among Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

This research aimed to investigate the effects of a cognitive rehearsal program (CRP) on workplace bullying among nurses. A randomized controlled trial was performed. Participants were 40 nurses working in different university hospitals in B city, South Korea. The experimental group was provided with a 20-hour CRP comprising scenarios on bullying situations, standard communication, and role-playing. To evaluate effects of the CRP, we measured interpersonal relationships, workplace bullying, symptom experience, and turnover intention at preand post-intervention. Follow-up effect was measured in the experimental group only at 4 weeks after the intervention. After the intervention, there were significant differences in interpersonal relationships (F=6.21, p=.022) and turnover intention (F=5.55, p=.024) between experimental and wait-list groups. However, there was no significant difference in workplace bullying or symptom experience between the 2 groups. The beneficial effects on interpersonal relationships and turnover intention lasted at least up to 4 weeks after CRP. The CRP for workplace bullying improves interpersonal relationships and decreases turnover intention. So it can be utilized as one of the personal coping strategies to reduce the the turnover among nurses. Further studies on the effects of unit- or hospital-based CRP and on the long-term effects of CRP are necessary.

The work environment of junior doctors: their perspectives and coping strategies

ObjectiveThis study explores the associations between psychological distress in junior doctors and their work environment and how they cope with work stressors.MethodsA cross-sectional survey designed by Health Education and Training...

Experiences With and Perceptions of Workplace Bullying Among Athletic Trainers in the Secondary School Setting.

Workplace bullying (WPB) has recently received much attention in society. Research on WPB in athletic training practice settings is limited. To determine the prevalence of WPB in the secondary school setting and explore the factors related to it. Mixed-methods study. Secondary school. A total of 567 athletic trainers (women = 322 [56.8%], men = 245 [43.2%]), aged 36.5 ± 11.1 years with 11.9 ± 9.5 years of experience took part in phase I. Ten participants (7 women and 3 men), aged 39.3 ± 10.1 years with 14.3 ± 8.3 years of experience, took part in phase II. For the online survey, we used the previously validated and reliable (Cronbach α = .84) Athletic Training Workplace Environment Survey, which included the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. The prevalence of WPB was measured with descriptive statistics, and χ2 analyses were used to compare differences between groups (ie, females and males, perpetrators' titles). The interview data were examined using an inductive content analysis. Of the participants, 44 (7.8%) were empirically identified as targets of bullying, though a higher percentage (12.4%, n = 70) self-identified as bullying targets. Men and women did not differ with respect to having experienced WPB, but more perpetrators were male (71.6%, n = 48) than female (28.4%, n = 19; χ21 = 12.55, P = <.001). We also observed a difference in perpetrators' titles, with the vast majority of bullies being coaches or administrators (χ26 = 33.82, P = <.001). Lack of administrator support and discrimination were antecedents of bullying. Stress, depression, and sleep disturbances were reported consequences. Participants coped with bullying by avoidance and role refocusing. Bullying was experienced by a small percentage of athletic trainers in the secondary school setting, a contrast to the findings in the collegiate practice setting.

The longitudinal effects of organizational change on experienced and enacted bullying behaviour

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the relation between organizational change and enacted or experienced workplace bullying. We find that there is a longitudinal relation between organizational change and bullying behaviour and that this effect varies depending on the type of preceding organizational change (task-related or relational change). Task-related change predicts experienced bullying behaviours and relational change predicts enacted bullying behaviours. Within a relationistic process precipitation framework, we find that among moderators at the organizational level (leadership quality) and individual level (affectivity), only positive affectivity slightly moderates the relation between relational change and enacted bullying behaviours. The findings are relevant for the development of evidence-based strategies for the prevention of workplace bullying during different types of organizational change.

Workplace Bullying Among Teachers: An Analysis From the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model Perspective.

This paper adopts the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to analyze workplace bullying among teachers. The data used for this research are obtained from the 5th European Working Conditions Survey. Given the objective of this work, a subsample of 261 education employees is collected: 48.7% of these teachers report having experienced workplace bullying (N = 127), while 51.3% indicate not considering themselves as bullied at work (N = 134). In order to test the research model and hypotheses, this study relies on the use of partial least squares (PLS-SEM), a variance-based structural equation modeling method. The study describes a workplace bullying prevalence rate of 4.4% among education employees. This work summarizes an array of outcomes with the aim of proposing, in general, that workplace bullying may be reduced by limiting job demands and increasing job resources.

Target experiences of workplace bullying: insights from Australia, India and Turkey

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore target experiences of workplace bullying across Australia, India and Turkey, uncovering cross-cultural convergence and divergence. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire-based qualitative data survey of business school students with current/prior work experience (n=399) was undertaken. In total, 114 respondents (57 Australian, 34 Indian, 23 Turkish) identified themselves as targets of workplace bullying. Close-ended data pertaining to sociodemographic details were analysed via Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for descriptive statistics while open-ended data pertaining to experiences of bullying were thematically analysed against pre-figured categories derived from literature. Findings – Manifestations of, etiology of and coping with workplace bullying were similar across all three countries, highlighting cultural universals. Clear variations in source of bullying behaviour and availability and use of formal interventions as well as more subtle variations relating to coexistence with category-based harassment, outcomes and bystander behaviour underscored the influence of national culture. Research limitations/implications – Inclusion of a student population, notwithstanding their work experience, as well as reliance on the questionnaire as a tool pose limits in terms of external validity and communication congruence. Practical implications – Understanding into the similarities and differences of workplace bullying across cultures facilitates the design of interventions tailor-made for a particular society, serving as inputs for international/multi-national and offshored business enterprises. Originality/value – The study, focusing on multiple aspects of target experiences, not only draws on both dimensional and metaphorical cross-cultural frameworks but also includes geographically dispersed and socially diverse nations. Thus, it extends insights from previous cross-cultural explorations of workplace bullying which, apart from being few in number, are limited either by their frameworks, spatial range and/or thematic coverage.

Relationship between Organizational Culture and Workplace Bullying among Korean Nurses

To identify the relationship between organizational culture and experience of workplace bullying among Korean nurses. Participants were 298 hospital nurses in Busan, South Korea. We assessed nursing organizational culture and workplace bullying among nurses using structured questionnaires from July 1 through August 15, 2014. Most participants considered their organizational culture as hierarchy-oriented (45.5%), followed by relation-oriented (36.0%), innovation-oriented (10.4%), and task-oriented (8.1%). According to the operational bullying criteria, the prevalence of workplace bullying was 15.8%. A multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of being a victim of bullying were 2.58 times as high among nurses in a hierarchy-oriented culture as among nurses in a relation-oriented culture [95% confidence interval (1.12, 5.94)]. The results suggest that the types of nursing organizational culture are related to workplace bullying in Korean nurses. Further research is needed to develop interventions that can foster relation-oriented cultures to prevent workplace bullying in nurses.

Does workplace bullying experiences impact, on long-term, employees levels of strain?

-The present study reports the long-term effects of workplace bullying exposure on Romanian employees’ physical strain. 73 (Mage=31.5; SDage=8.91) Romanian employees participated at baseline (t1June-September 2012) and at follow-up six months later (t2. March 2013June 2013). The results of the present article showed that workplace bullying consequences are more important for the longterm than for the short one. The results showed that workplace bullying predicted at time 1 only 6.2% of physical strain’s variance while at time 2 it predicted 13.1% of physical strain’s variance. These results emphasize that the more prolonged are workplace bullying acts the more physically strain Romanian employees will feel. It seems that the negative effects of workplace bullying exposure are more salient on long-term than on short-term. The results of the present article can have practical implications because they can bring new information useful for human resources practitioners, helping them designing and conducting more efficient training programs.

Workplace bullying among Nurses in South Taiwan.

This study was to investigate bullying among hospital nurses and its correlates. Chinese people were unlikely to express their opinions or pursue individual rights. Workplace bullying took place more easily among the educated people within Chinese culture. However, studies related to workplace bullying among hospital nurses in Taiwan were still limited. A cross-sectional design. Two hundred and eighty-five nurses who worked in the regional teaching hospital in south Taiwan were recruited. The significant predictors of workplace bullying were identified by using linear regression analysis. The mean of overall bullying was 1·47, showing that the frequency of the nurses having experienced workplace bullying was between 'never' and 'now and then'. The most frequent bullying item was 'being yelled at or being the target of anger', followed by 'being the objects of untruthful criticism' and 'having views ignored'. Hospital nurses working in the Emergency room would gain 10·888 points more in the overall bullying scale compared with those who worked in operation rooms or haemodialysis rooms. They were more likely to be bullied. Hospital nurses with one year increase in nursing experience were 0·207 points less likely to be bullied. Reducing workplace bullying among hospital nurses was an essential method to provide quality assurance to health care. Nurse managers should build up zero tolerance policy to decrease nurses' exposure to workplace bullying. Training programmes related to bullying prevention are suggested to avoid workplace bullying. The contents of the educational training programmes or workshops should incorporate the characteristics and consequences of the workplace bullying, and the strategies to deal with bullying.

A Grounded Theory Approach on Nurses' Experience with Workplace Bullying

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the workplace bullying experience of Korean nurses. Participants were twenty current or former hospital nurses who had experienced workplace bullying. Data were collected through focus group and individual in-depth interviews from February to May, 2015. Theoretical sampling method was applied to the point of theoretical saturation. Transcribed interview contents were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss's grounded theory method. A total of 110 concepts, 48 sub-categories, and 17 categories were identified through the open coding process. As a result of axial coding based on the paradigm model, the central phenomenon of nurses' workplace bullying experience was revealed as 'teaching that has become bullying', and the core category was extracted as 'surviving in love-hate teaching' consisting of a four-step process: confronting reality, trial and error, relationship formation, and settlement. The relationship formation was considered to be the key phase to proceed to the positive settlement phase, and the participants utilized various strategies such as having an open mind, developing human relationships, understanding each other in this phase. The in-depth understanding of the workplace bullying experience has highlighted the importance of effective communication for cultivating desirable human relationships between nurses.

Relationships among Self-esteem, Social Support, Nursing Organizational Culture, Experience of Workplace Bullying, and Consequence of Workplace Bullying in Hospital Nurses

Relationships among Self-esteem, Social Support, Nursing Organizational Culture, Experience of Workplace Bullying, and Consequence of Workplace Bullying in Hospital Nurses

Keeping a distance: Social identity, workplace bullying, and job satisfaction

Workplace bullying has been widely researched due to the negative effects it has on employees’ psychological well-being and job satisfaction. At the same time, social identity theory has been applied to the study of work place bullying as a potential means to understand and reduce the experience of it. In this study, participants (N=65) took part in an online questionnaire where experiences of bullying, social identity, and job satisfaction were measured. Analyses indicated that social identity fully mediates the association between bullying and job satisfaction, such that experience of workplace bullying leads to a reduction in social identification, and a resultant increase in job satisfaction. The implications of these findings for a social identity account of workplace bullying, and the ways in which these findings might inform workplace anti-bullying interventions are discussed.

신규간호사의 직장 내 괴롭힘 경험과 회복탄력성이 조직사회화에 미치는 영향

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of workplace bullying experience and resilience on the organizational socialization among new graduate nurses. Methods: This is a descriptive correlational study with 148 new graduate nurses working in the hospitals in B city of Korea. The instruments that were used for measuring main variables were the negative acts questionnaire-revised (NAQ-R), the Korean version of the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC), and the measurement tool for new nurses' organizational socialization. Results: The prevalence of workplace bullying was 22.3%, and the subjects reported moderate level of resilience. Significant negative correlations between workplace bullying and resilience, and organizational socialization were found. A significant positive correlation was found between resilience and organizational socialization. As a result of multiple regression analysis, resilience, workplace bullying, and a working in desired unit turned out to be variables that explained new graduate nurses’ organizational socialization (adjusted R 2 =.514, p<.001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that new graduate nurses with higher resilience and less experience of workplace bullying would show higher organizational socialization. Further research is needed to identify the regulation effect of resilience in between workplace bullying and organizational socialization.

Distinct workplace bullying experiences and sleep quality: A person-centred approach

This paper examined the relationships between workplace bullying, sleep quality, and psychological distress using a person-centred approach. Participants included 1454 Australian employees who completed an online questionnaire. Experiences of workplace bullying were assessed via the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised, with Latent Class Analysis conducted to identify distinct workplace bullying experiences. Sleep quality was assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The results indicated six distinct classes: No Bullying; Limited Indirect Bullying; Occasional Task-Related Bullying; Task-Related Bullying; Occasional Bullying; and Frequent Bullying. Compared with No Bullying, all classes were associated with poorer sleep quality. A multi-categorical mediation model indicated that higher psychological distress mediated the relationship between workplace bullying classes (except for the Limited Indirect Bullying class) and sleep quality. Individual differences in the nature of workplace bullying could thus have important implications for sleep quality.

From feeling to naming: A sensitive approach to managerial newspeak through bullying at work

By accessing language, an individual is granted the means to represent experiences and to share meaning. However, ill-being resulting from workplace bullying makes it hard for the subject to put his/her experience into words. I explored this uneasiness through qualitative research conducted through an interdisciplinary approach. My fieldwork led me to raise questions about the influence of modern managerial discourse on the individual and his/her relation to language. After conducting in-depth interviews with individuals confronted with bullying at work and crossing their narratives with information from organisational websites, I suggest that modern managerial discourse hinders the expression of emotions and thereby the understanding of subjective experiences (both the informants’ understanding of their own subjective experience and the understanding of their experiences by others). I argue that this process is rooted in an internalization of managerial discourse, which weakens the subject as it diminishes his/her enunciative autonomy and limits his/her ability to make sense of his/her emotional experiences. This article considers these findings. Through excerpts from organisational communications, the first part calls on the heuristic dimension of knowing via the senses to question the subjective influence of managerial discourse. The narrative of an experience of workplace bullying then allows for display of the ambivalence of managerial discourse. It appears to be a tool both enabling and hindering subjective expression, as it allows sharing of facts at the expense of sharing emotions. Considering my argument that the internalization of managerial discourse by the subject turns this discourse into “managerial newspeak”, the third and concluding part of the article addresses the issue of sharing understanding of psychosocial processes in scientific work.

Socioeconomic determinants of bullying in the workplace: a national representative sample in Japan.

Bullying in the workplace is an increasingly recognized threat to employee health. We sought to test three hypotheses related to the determinants of workplace bullying: power distance at work; safety climate; and frustration related to perceived social inequality. A questionnaire survey was administered to a nationally representative community-based sample of 5,000 residents in Japan aged 20–60 years. The questionnaire included questions about employment, occupation, company size, education, household income, and subjective social status (SSS). We inquired about both the witnessing and personal experience of workplace bullying during the past 30 days. Among 2,384 respondents, data were analyzed from 1,546 workers. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine the social determinants of workplace bullying. Six percent and 15 percent of the total sample reported experiencing or witnessing workplace bullying, respectively. After adjusting for gender and age, temporary employees (Odds Ratio [OR]: 2.45 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.03–5.85]), junior high school graduates (OR: 2.62 [95%CI: 1.01–6.79]), workers with lowest household income (OR: 4.13 [95%CI:1.58–10.8]), and workers in the lowest SSS stratum (OR: 4.21 [95%CI:1.66–10.7]) were at increased risk of experiencing workplace bullying. When all variables were entered simultaneously in the model, a significant inverse association was observed between higher SSS and experiencing bullying (p = 0.002). Similarly in terms of witnessing bullying; SSS was significantly inversely associated (p = 0.017) while temporary employees reported a significantly higher risk of witnessing bullying compared to permanent workers (OR: 2.25 [95%CI:1.04 to 4.87]). The significant association between SSS and experiencing/witnessing workplace bullying supports the frustration hypothesis. The power distance hypothesis was also partly supported by the finding that temporary employees experienced a higher prevalence of workplace bullying.