Targets Of Workplace Bullying Research Articles

Leaders as the targets of workplace bullying - prevalence and outcomes.

Bullying of leaders is an underexplored topic in organizational research. To fill this knowledge gap, the aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of bullying of leaders and to examine whether holding a formal leadership position influences the relationships between exposure to bullying and the outcomes job satisfaction and depression. Data from two separate surveys were employed: (1) A cross-sectional occupation specific sample comprising 678 Norwegian child welfare social workers; (2) A nationally representative probability sample of 1,608 Norwegian employees with two time-points (6 months' time-lag). Analyzing multiple indicators of workplace bullying, holding a formal leadership position had no impact on the initial risk of being bullied. Analyses of prospective data showed that leaders report a somewhat stronger increase in levels of bullying over time compared to non-leaders, although the effect size was small. With exception of a small buffering effect on the cross-sectional association between exposure to bullying behaviors and job satisfaction in the second sample, holding a leadership position had no effect on the strength of the association between bullying and outcomes. The findings show that leaders have the same risk of being bullied and are influenced by bullying in roughly the same manner as non-leaders. Organizational measures and interventions against bullying should therefore consider leaders as a risk group in line with other employees.

The association between workplace bullying and the mental health of Jordanian nurses and its predictors: A cross-sectional correlational study

Background Bullying at work is a major challenge that harms an employee’s overall well-being, job happiness, and mental health. Objectives To assess the relationship between workplace bullying and Jordanian nurses’ mental health. Materials and Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional correlational design was used in this study, recruiting 146 nurses from three governmental hospitals in Jordan. A convenience sample was used. The study used the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) tool to measure the level of bullying as a negative behavior. Also, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42) was used to assess nurse’s mental status. Results Most of the participants 54.8% were victims of frequent workplace bullying, while the mean score of the total DASS-42 scale (M = 43.45). About 64.4% of participants exhibited symptoms of depression, 58.8% exhibited symptoms of anxiety, and 46.6% exhibited symptoms of stress. A significant relationship between workplace bullying and mental health among Jordanian nurses was found (r = 0.75, p < 0.001). Conclusion Bullying at work can harm a person’s mental health, causing stress, worry, and depression. Like other professions, nursing can be the target of workplace bullying, which can take many different forms. However, maintaining a safe and respectful workplace is a priority for healthcare providers including nurses.

An approach to the etiology of effects in targets of workplace bullying

An approach to the etiology of effects in targets of workplace bullying

The use of coaching as a tool to improve coping in victims of workplace bullying

This pilot study, based on Quiun’s (2017) theoretical model, aimed to improve the wellbeing of victims of workplace bullying through their coping strategies. Ouiun’s (2017) model highlights the importance of rumination in workplace bullying’s psychological effects as well as the negative role of thinking in its development. The program used the reflective nature of coaching and the benefits of autogenous meditation in stress management training to promote coping skills and to reduce activation levels. The participants were people who reported being targets of workplace bullying. They were assessed in the three factors of rumination (Brooding, Reflection and Negative Thinking) and wellbeing levels at pre- post- and three-month after the end of the study to identify change levels resulting from the program. Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney and the index for reliable change were employed to determine the statistical significance of the change, while Grounded Theory principles were used to explore qualitatively how coaching worked on promoting change. The quantitative analysis showed a significant change in negative thinking level (z=-1.98 p&lt;.048) between post-intervention and three months after the project. The qualitative analysis indicates how coaching improves coping skills, self-esteem and personal growth, with the alliance with the participants and autogenous meditation suggested as the key elements that facilitated this change.

The hammer and the scalpel: A teacher’s experience of workplace bullying

Through autoethnography, I explore and reflect on my past experiences as a target of workplace bullying in two institutions, a university and language school aimed at adult education. By doing so, this autoethnography’s purpose is to allow me to gain a deeper understanding why bullying takes place. I explore my own personal experiences of being bullied, how I responded to being bullied each time, and how being bullied changed me as a person. Through research and reflection, I found that these negative experiences fostered a spirit of resilience and growth. An outcome of bully marginally explored in the related literature.Keywords: education; workplace; management; bullying; mobbing; resiliencePart of the special issue Autoethnography in online doctoral education <https://doi.org/10.21428/8c225f6e.9415e58d>

Antecedents of Workplace Bullying among Employees in Germany: Five-Year Lagged Effects of Job Demands and Job Resources.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine the long-term association of job demands and job resources with self-reported exposure to workplace bullying in a representative sample of employees in Germany. Methods: We analysed a nation-wide representative cohort of employees working in the same workplace with a 5-year follow-up (S-MGA; N = 1637). The study contained self-reported measures of psychosocial working conditions, including work pace, amount of work, influence at work, role clarity and quality of leadership, and workplace bullying, and of organisational factors, including organisational restructuring and layoffs. Results: After controlling for bullying and occupational level at baseline, higher baseline levels of organisational restructuring (OR 1.73; 95% CI 1.10–2.70), work pace (1.30; 95% CI 1.01–1.66), and amount of work (1.55; 95% CI 1.21–1.99), and lower baseline levels of influence at work (0.70; 95% CI 0.55–0.90) and quality of leadership (0.64; 95% CI 0.50–0.82), were associated with an elevated risk of workplace bullying at follow-up. In all, 90% of cases of self-reported workplace bullying could be attributed to these factors. Conclusions: The study suggests that employees reporting higher demands and lower resources, as well as organisational factors such as restructuring, are at a higher long-term risk of being targets of workplace bullying. Interventions aimed at preventing workplace bullying could benefit from a focus on psychosocial working conditions and organisational factors.

A clinical study of musculoskeletal dysfunction in targets of workplace bullying

Background Workers exposed to bullying often report musculoskeletal symptoms. In this study we have clinically evaluated the prevalence and nature of musculoskeletal dysfunction among a group of workers exposed to bullying and studied the relationship between clinical findings and self-reported musculoskeletal and mental symptoms. Materials and methods In a cross-sectional study, 144 patients admitted to an outpatient clinic for victims of workplace bullying were assessed with the Global Physiotherapy Examination 52 (GPE-52), a standardised test battery examining posture, respiration, movement, muscle and skin. The patients filled in self-report questionnaires regarding musculoskeletal symptoms (MSI), anxiety and depression (The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (Impact of Events Scale revised version, IES-R). Results Patients victimised by bullying showed reduced flexibility, reduced ability to relax, restricted respiration and tense and painful muscles. The total GPE-52 sum-score and the main domains Movement and Muscle had significant correlations with most self-reported health variables, strongest between the subdomain Flexibility and HADS-D (r = 0.37) and HADS-A (r = 0.36). Conclusions Victims of bullying have clinically evident musculoskeletal dysfunctions that were further found to have a relationship with self-reported mental symptoms. Future health services for these patients should be multi-dimensional and include a bodily assessment by a physiotherapist and relevant treatment when needed.

Deflating power imbalance through personal identity enhancement

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to identify how the intersection of power, context, subjectivity and directionality makes it possible for the targets of workplace bullying to deflate power imbalance between them and the perpetrators.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on nine in-depth interviews with self-reported targets from different public sector organizations in India. The targets were purposively selected keeping in mind that they made deliberate attempts to counter bullying. Constructivist grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data.FindingsSix themes emerged as sources of power imbalance and eight themes as the way of deflating power imbalance. The core category that emerged was “enhancing personal identity”, which was the underlying phenomenon leading to deflation of power imbalance, through the intersection of power, context, subjectivity and directionality.Research limitations/implicationsThe study indicates that power, context, subjectivity and directionality of bullying help the targets to identify effective strategies of deflating power imbalance. In the process, the targets indulge in personal identity enhancement. It further reinforces the understanding that power does not remain static and may shift from the perpetrator to the target of bullying.Practical implicationsThe study provides various tactics that targets can use to counter workplace bullying. It implies that targets need not always leave the organization or succumb to the situation in order to deal with bullying. It encourages the targets of bullying and those who deal with bullying targets to indulge in personal identity enhancement through problem-focused strategies of tackling workplace bullying.Originality/valueIt also furthers our understanding of workplace bullying from the point of intersection of the four aspects of the phenomenon – power, context, subjectivity and directionality – which allows the targets of bullying to enhance their personal identity.

Incidência e definição do assédio moral entre trabalhadores do transporte coletivo urbano

O estudo identificou a ocorrência e o conhecimento sobre Assédio Moral no Trabalho (AMT) para trabalhadores do transporte coletivo urbano de uma capital do Brasil. Foi realizado um estudo como misto, com 382 trabalhadores, que responderam um questionário de dados sociodemográficos, a Escala Laboral de Assédio Moral e a questões relacionadas ao conhecimento sobre essa violência. Os resultados demonstraram diferença entre o quantitativo de trabalhadores identificados como alvos de AMT pelos itens da escala (48,69%) e aqueles que se reconhecem como assediados (36,34%). A dimensão “condições de trabalho” foi a mais frequentemente citada na amostra. As definições de AMT relacionaram-se com humilhação, desrespeito e constrangimento. Apesar de terem conformidades conceituais com a literatura, estas categorias demonstraram um conhecimento simplificado, salientando elementos objetivos. Conclui-se que essa violência só poderá ser eficazmente com sua definição clara e distinta de outras formas de sofrimento decorrente do trabalho.

How does workplace bullying influence nurses' abilities to provide patient care? A nurse perspective.

To explore how workplace bullying influences nurses' abilities to provide patient care. Nurses' experiences of workplace bullying undermine nursing work environments and potentially threaten patient care. Although there is a link between nurses' experiences of workplace bullying and poor patient care, additional exploration is necessary as current evidence remains underdeveloped and inconclusive. Qualitative descriptive study. Fifteen inpatient staff nurses who have experienced workplace bullying while working in one hospital located in the southern region of the USA participated in individual, semi-structured interviews. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse interview transcripts in NVivo 12 software. The COREQ checklist for qualitative studies has been used in reporting this study. Three themes, and respective subthemes, were generated from data analysis: (a) workplace bullying as part of the nursing work environment, (b) workplace bullying's influence on nurses and (c) workplace bullying's influence on patient care. Workplace bullying was perceived to be inherent in the nursing work environment; nurses felt that they were targets of workplace bullying because (a) they were new nurses, (b) there was an abuse of power, or (c) the nature of the work occasioned it. Nurses were mentally and emotionally influenced by the bullying. Some nurses perceived that workplace bullying did influence their ability to provide patient care; however, others did not. Organisations must support new nurses and manage relational attributes of the nursing work environment to reduce workplace bullying. Nursing leaders should receive education on fostering and sustaining favourable nursing work environments and be held accountable for behavioural expectations of the organisation. Understanding how nurses perceive the work environment to influence their experiences of workplace bullying informs the development of organisational interventions to reduce the behaviour. Furthermore, exploring how nurses' experiences of workplace bullying influences their abilities to provide patient care increases our understanding of workplace bullying implications.

Being bullied as a midwifery student: does age matter?

Clinical placement is a compulsory component of midwifery education and a time when some midwifery students become targets of workplace bullying. An anonymous, online qualitative survey was used to collect data from two contrasting groups of purposively recruited UK and Australian midwifery students that responded to a call for experiences of bullying while on clinical placement. Participants in group were either aged between 18–21 years (n=20) or over 43 years of age (n=20). The data collected from each group was thematically analysed and compared. While younger midwifery students have an additional power disadvantage compared to their older counterparts, the pattern of bullying experience between the two groups was remarkably similar. Younger students however, experience more verbal and overt forms, and are more likely to respond passively to the experience. Results are discussed in terms of impact on individual welfare and the viability of the profession.

The Impact of Workplace Bullying on Employees’ Turnover Intention: The Role of Self-Esteem

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of self-esteem in the relationship between workplace bullying and turnover intention in China. Basing on 215 samples, this study examined the relationship among workplace bullying, self-esteem and employees’ turnover intention. The results show that: self-esteem is negatively related to the probability of reporting oneself as a target of workplace bullying; workplace bullying is an excellent predictor of employees’ turnover; self-esteem plays a moderating role in the relationship between workplace bullying and turnover intention. An improved understanding of how individual differences impact on the exposure to workplace bullying and on the relationship between workplace bullying and turnover intention may have important implications from both the theoretical and the practical standpoints.

Cutoff scores for workplace bullying: The Spanish Short-Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ).

Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor at work. However, in the Spanish context, there is a lack of measures that allow researchers and practitioners to distinguish between non-targets and targets of workplace bullying. This study reports the psychometric properties, factor structure, and cutoff scores for the Short-Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) in a Spanish sample (N = 1,409). The S-NAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Moreover, both Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed that a unifactorial model of workplace bullying fit the data best. Two cutoff points for the S-NAQ were formulated using receiver operating characteristic curves to categorize respondents as "not exposed to workplace bullying" (scores below 15), "at risk of being bullied" (scores between 15 and 22), and "targets of workplace bullying" (scores above 22). These cutoff scores may help researchers and practitioners in diagnosing workplace bullying and designing intervention strategies.

The Incidence of Workplace Bullying and Related Environmental Factors Among Nurse Managers

The purpose of the study was to explore relationships between authentic leadership style, global social power, job demand, job control, and workplace bullying of nurse managers in acute care settings across the United States. Consequences of workplace bullying are linked to intent to leave, turnover, and harmful emotional and physical effects. An explorative, descriptive, cross-sectional design using an online survey was utilized. Thirty-five percent of nurse managers reported being a target of workplace bullying with severity levels ranging from occasional to severe. Executive nurse leaders were identified as the primary perpetrator with the downward direction recognized as most prominent. Nurse managers are recipients of workplace bullying emanating from executive nurse leaders, clinical nurses, and their nurse manager peers.

The relationship between organisational change and being a perpetrator of workplace bullying: A three-wave longitudinal study

ABSTRACTWhile research has unravelled the association between organisational change and being a target of workplace bullying, scholars have still to shed light on the perpetrator perspective of this association. In the current study, we further the literature by investigating the relationship between exposure to organisational change and being a perpetrator of workplace bullying. We introduced perceptions of psychological contract breach as a mechanism that accounts for the process in which exposure to organisational change leads employees to direct bullying behaviours to other members of the organisation. Using three-wave longitudinal data from 1994 employees we estimated a between-subjects mediation model controlling for autoregressive effects. Results confirmed our hypothesis that exposure to organisational change at Time 1 was positively related to being a perpetrator of workplace bullying at Time 3 through perceptions of psychological contract breach at Time 2. These findings suggest that organisations should invest in factors that lower employees’ likelihood to perceive psychological contract breach in the aftermath of organisational change because these perceptions may indeed result in the enactment of workplace bullying towards other members of the organisation.

Bullying versus creativity: Mutually exclusive workplace behaviors

Applied creativity relies on workers who trust the environment and feel confident in making uncustomary strides to solve everyday problems. However, when employees face workplace bullying, the opportunity for true creativity is compromised as the brain is thrown into a flight or fight response, instead of a state that allows for creativity. Hence, this essay will discuss the behavioral response and brain damage experienced by the targets of workplace bullying. Recent studies show that true damage to the brain occurs for those dealing with intense stress on the job; in addition, damage to the organization occurs as well. Therefore, this essay reflects on how the creative process, which is needed in tough economic times, is truly compromised by workplace bullying.

Workplace bullying among nurses working in tertiary hospitals in Enugu, southeast Nigeria: Implications for health workers and job performance

Background : Workplace bullying among nurses has been identified as a major contributor to poor attitude towards duties, and reduction in overall productivity. This study examined the occurrence and effects of behaviors that constitute workplace bullying among nurses in tertiary hospitals in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria. Methods : Data were collected from 286 nurses working in 4 tertiary hospitals in Enugu State, Southeast, Nigeria, using a modified 22-item Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ) for measuring bullying behaviors in the workplace, and a 26-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) for measuring the impact of bullying. Results : The prevalence of workplace bullying among nurses working in tertiary hospitals in Enugu is reported to be high. Data provided by the respondents in relation to prevalence was greatly affected by poor knowledge of what constitutes workplace bullying among nurses. A total of 82.6% of the respondents reported that they have been victims of workplace bullying. Behaviors observed most (on daily basis) over the 6-month period preceding the study include gossiping (22.0%), backbiting (18.7%), excessive workload without supervision (17.3%), failure to respect privacy (13.1%), intimidation (12.6%), humiliating someone in front of others including patients (12.1%) and unfair allocation of job and postings (8.4%). The main perpetrators of workplace bullying were identified by 76% of the respondents as senior nurses overseeing hospital wards/units, 84.1% of the respondents also indicated that nurses in junior cadre were the main targets. Female nurses were identified as the main perpetrators and targets of workplace bullying among nurses by 93.9% and 92.1% of the respondents respectively. The reported impact of workplace bullying among nurses include anger (50.5%), an intention to travel abroad because of the feeling that the prevalence is less there (33.6%), anxiety (21.5%), frustration (16.8%) and strained social relationships amongst colleagues (11.2%). Conclusions : Workplace bullying (mainly from senior nurses to junior ones) is highly prevalent and has significant impact on the health, job performance and retention rate of nurses working in tertiary hospitals in Enugu. Poor knowledge of what constitutes workplace bullying among nurses, relational aggression and female oppression have great implication in the prevalence, nature of bullying behaviors exhibited, characteristics of the perpetrators and the outcome of workplace bullying among the nurses. In order to reduce the prevalence of workplace bullying among nurses working in tertiary hospitals in Enugu, the nurses do not only require education on what constitutes workplace bullying, they also need adequate information about how to communicate respectfully with each other in the workplace. Nurse leaders and hospital administrators should also constitute disciplinary committees, encourage nurses to report the incidence of workplace bullying, punish perpetrators as well as protect those who report the cases from further attacks of bullying through establishment of policies to regulate interpersonal relationships among nurses.

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.

The role of work stressors, coping strategies and coping resources in the process of workplace bullying: A systematic review and development of a comprehensive model

Abstract Both work- and person-related factors may trigger workplace bullying. Work-related factors, such as role stressors, can create a stressful work environment leading to bullying. Additionally, person-related factors, such as emotion-focused coping, could make employees more vulnerable to bullying. In this study, we aimed to develop a comprehensive model integrating these factors. We systematically reviewed studies published between 1984 and 2014. First, we identified the most relevant work-related stressors (role conflict, workload, role ambiguity, job insecurity and cognitive demands) as predictors of being a target of workplace bullying. Second, problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies that may moderate the association between stressors and targets of bullying were identified. Third, coping resources that are associated with coping strategies were indicated. Results suggested a model in which reappraisal coping, confrontive coping, practical coping, direct coping, active coping, social support (problem-focused coping) and self-care (emotion-focused coping) decrease the association between work stressors and bullying (i.e. buffer-effect). Wishful thinking, emotional coping, avoidance, recreation, social support and suppression (emotion-focused coping) increase this association (i.e. boost-effect). Coping resources (locus of control, self-efficacy, optimism, co-workers support, supervisor support, task complexity, participation in decision-making, autonomy and continuance commitment) related positively to problem-focused coping strategies and negatively to emotion-focused coping strategies.

Do the bullies survive? A five-year, three-wave prospective study of indicators of expulsion in working life among perpetrators of workplace bullying.

In recent series of studies, we have shown that targets of workplace bullying are at risk of expulsion in working life, both from current employment (e.g. in terms of changing employer) and from working life itself (e.g. becoming unemployed). The most recent of these, Take It or Leave: A Five-Year Prospective Study of Workplace Bullying and Indicators of Expulsion in Working Life was recently published in Industrial Health, and the present short communication aims to follow up that paper, investigating the possible job “survival” of the perpetrators. A nationally representative sample was employed (n=1,613), and responses were gathered at three time points with a two-year and a five-year time-lag. Outcomes were intention to leave and sickness absence at T1, and sickness absence, change of employer, disability benefit recipiency and unemployment at T2 and T3. The results of regression analyses clearly indicate that the perpetrators’ occupational status is largely unchanged, and remains so over time, as opposed to earlier findings regarding the targets of bullying.