Exploring risk groups workplace bullying with categorical data

Workplace bullying in a South African higher education institution: Academic and support staff experiences

Orientation: Workplace bullying is a common occurrence in organisations worldwide, and higher education institutions are no exception.Research purpose: This study was conducted with the aim of determining the perceptions of workplace bullying amongst academic and support staff at a higher education institution in South Africa and to ascertain how they are affected by selected sociodemographic variables.Motivation for the study: Currently, there are limited published research studies reporting on the prevalence and/or experience of workplace bullying at tertiary education institutions in South Africa.Research approach/design and method: The study used a quantitative-based survey design. The research setting was limited to one higher education institution in South Africa. The target population of the study comprised all academic and support staff of the institution. A web-based standardised questionnaire was used to collect the data.Main findings: The results revealed that the respondents experienced negative behaviours related to exclusion the most, followed by managerial misconduct, humiliation and belittlement and hostility the least.Practical/Managerial implications: Understanding and addressing workplace bullying is critical to counteract this problem in organisations. The longer the phenomenon is left unattended, the worse it will become and the more difficult it will be to combat. Employers can play a pre-emptive role in the prevention of and intervention in workplace bullying.Contribution/value-add: The study sheds light on the experiences of bullying at a South African university and adds to the body of literature on bullying in the tertiary education sector in the national context.

Workplace Bullying in the Portuguese Banking Sector: Incidence Levels and Risk Groups

This study aims to analyze the incidence rate of workplace bullying in the Portuguese banking sector and to shed light on the most frequent bullying behaviors encountered in this understudied setting. In line with the idea of "powerlessness," these aspects are contrasted in terms of gender and organizational position. A questionnaire-based survey using two different but complementary strategies was conducted, to measure both the subjective perception of workplace bullying and the objective dimension of the concept. Results (N = 561) showed an incidence rate of 5.9% targets of bullying, according to the self-labeling method. Following the two-act criterion, 23.4% of the targets were found through the behavioral experience method. The respondents who indicated to be a target of bullying based on the self-labeling method reported mainly work-related negative acts (e.g., being exposed to an unmanageable workload, their opinions and views are ignored and their work is excessively monitored) in the behavioral experience method. In contrast to our expectations, not the bottom staff but the middle and top managers were mostly exposed to bullying acts. Regarding gender, men were more at risk of being a target of bullying behaviors at work than women, contrary to our hypothesis and to the general idea in the literature. In addition, there was an interaction effect of position and gender in the prevalence of bullying. Although this study has limitations due to its focus exclusively in the banking sector, the findings seem to have important implications in terms of designing intervention policies. In addition, it provides new insights about workplace bullying in a sector and a country that has been largely absent from research carried out so far in Europe. Finally, the results challenge and contextualize the dominant idea in the literature that the weaker and defenseless worker is the most likely target of bullying.

When workplace bullying spreads workplace deviance through anger and neuroticism

Purpose

With a basis in affective events theory, this study aims to investigate the mediating role of anger in the relationship between employees’ exposure to workplace bullying and their engagement in deviant behaviours, as well as the invigorating role of their neuroticism in this process.

Design/methodology/approach

Three-wave, time-lagged data were collected from employees and their peers in a sample of Pakistani organizations.

Findings

Workplace bullying spurs interpersonal and organizational deviance because it prompts feelings of anger in employees. This mechanism is more prominent among employees with high levels of neuroticism.

Originality/value

This study reveals that the experience of anger is a key feature by which bullying behaviours steer employees towards counterproductive work behaviours, and this harmful process is more likely to escalate when employees’ personality makes them more vulnerable to emotional distress.

Outcomes of a Proximal Workplace Intervention Against Workplace Bullying and Harassment: A Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Among Norwegian Industrial Workers

Background: Workplace bullying is an important and prevalent risk factors for health impairment, reduced workability and lowered efficiency among both targets and observers. Development and tests of effective organizational intervention strategies are therefore highly important. The present study describes the background, design, and protocol of a cluster randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of an organization-wide intervention on preventing workplace bullying with a focus on promoting active and constructive bystander behavior. The main overarching goal is to develop an easy to use and standardized organizational intervention based on theory and research in the role of bystanders in bullying situations with the potential of reducing the prevalence of workplace bullying. The theoretical framework of the study is theory of planned behavior (TPB; Ajzen, 1991). Methods/Design: Using a full randomized control trial (RCT) design, this project will empirically test the outcomes of an intervention program targeting bullying and harassment as the main distal outcomes and perceived behavioral control and helping behavior among bystanders as the main proximal outcome. A 1-year cluster randomized controlled design will be utilized, in which controls will also receive the intervention. About 1,500 workers from two different locations of a Norwegian industrial company will be randomized into one intervention group and two control groups with at least 400 workers in each group. A survey will be conducted electronically. With a total of three assessments over 10-12 months, the time interval between the measurement times will be 4 months. Thus, the data collection will take place at baseline, completion of the intervention and at 4 months follow-up. Discussion: This study primarily aims to develop, implement, and evaluate an intervention based on the abovementioned features with the ultimate aim of reducing the prevalence of workplace bullying, by awareness raising and training of bystanders. Manager involvement and involvement of the union representative and the elected health and safety representatives is an important feature of the program. Results of the intervention study will provide important information regarding the effectiveness of preventive interventions against workplace bullying when focusing on bystanders, particularly so regarding the role of bystander awareness, bystander self-efficacy, and bystander behavioral control on the one hand and the prevalence of bullying and harassment on the other.

Causes of coercive management behaviour, dimensions and occupations

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify the specific causes of individual dimensions of coercive management behaviour (CMB) and identify the relationship between individual causes of CMB and the deployment of individual dimension of CMB as well as propose the matching of anti-CMB solutions to occupational types.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used a sample of 371 respondents randomly selected from 10 of 100 accredited universities in Ghana. The data were gathered using an instrument that was measured on five-point Likert scale, ranging from “strongly disagree = 1” to “strongly agree = 5”. Then the least squares regression analysis was also used in testing the hypothesis.

Findings

This study identified the potent effect of causality in determining the CMB in organisations. Again, a regression of the individual causes on individual dimensions of CMB clearly shows that there is a strong relationship between specific causes and individual dimensions of CMB. The results show clearly that each CMB cause has a different effect and unequal level of significance in relation to specific dimensions.

Research limitations/implications

Though this research attempted to find the relationship between causes of CMB and the CMB dimensions deployed in universities, the identified causes are only the causes elucidated through a new scale developed Doe (2018). Other possible causes of CMB were not factored into this research’s objectives. It is possible therefore that further research can link some other causes not mentioned in this work to dimensions of CMB which are intimidation, threat to personal standing, threat to professional standing, social isolation and work-related harassment. It is therefore suggested that more research will be necessary to ascertain which dimensions produce which effects and in what proportion in victims of CMB. Second, as a result of the fact that this is a novel area, formulating a hypothesis for the mediation of occupational types in the relationship between causes and dimensions is difficult. Hence, although the findings present a theory of a moderation of occupational characteristics on the relationship between causes of CMB and specific dimensions of CMB in the university, this theory was not tested. However, in spite of this, the researchers propose this perspective as the paper’s contribution to the body of the literature as a novel research interest worth looking into. It is thus relevant and significant to ignite research interest in this direction. Finally, data used in the study was conjoint thereby leaving no room for a comparative analysis of public versus private universities. This limitation should therefore provide a base for further research.

Practical implications

The research findings have practical policy implications. This includes providing the basis for designing policies that suit the needs of employees in any organisation. This therefore prevents a one-size-fits-all approach which may not be effective in all cases. Second, corporate governance is enhanced through the identification and resolving of context-specific factors that provide the seedbed for institutionalised bullying. Theoretically, the research findings also have implications. The findings enhance the cause and effect discussion of the phenomenon in the sense that being able to identify what causes more harm to the well-being of employees in a given organisation provides the vital link to crafting the right context-specific antidote to the phenomenon. Again, the relationship between causes of CMB and dimensions of CMB has been established. Having established this relationship, it is recommended that research focus should be directed at investigating differences in organisational cultures of various occupations and how they contribute towards providing the ideal environment for the causative factors in the CMB phenomenon to thrive. The establishment of the relationship between occupation types and causes and/or dimensions of CMB will unearth the critical nexus that needs to be found between type of occupations and the reverse relationship they have with causes through the lens of the dimensions deployed in the organisation. This will further enhance the understanding of the CMB phenomenon.

Originality/value

This study contributes significantly to research by bringing to attention of researchers and practitioners the linkage between causes and dimensions of CMB and thus enables organisations to tailor solutions to this phenomenon to the most pertinent causes of the dimensions experienced by victims.

Understanding the Impact of Bullying in a Unionized U.S. Public Sector Workforce

Background: Workplace Bullying (WPB) can have a tremendous, negative impact on the victims and the organization as a whole. The purpose of this study was to examine individual and organizational impact associated with exposure to bullying in a large U.S. unionized public sector workforce. Methods: A cross-sectional Web-based survey was conducted among 16,492 U.S. state government workers. Survey domains included demographics, negative acts (NAs) and bullying, supportiveness of the organizational climate, and individual and organizational impacts of bullying. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the impact among respondents who reported exposure to bullying. Findings: A total of 72% participants responded to the survey (n = 11,874), with 43.7% (n = 5,181) reporting exposure to NAs and bullying. A total of 40% (n = 4,711) participants who experienced WPB reported individual impact(s) while 42% (n = 4,969) reported organization impact(s). Regular NA was associated with high individual impact (negatively impacted them personally; odds ratio [OR] = 5.03) when controlling for other covariates including: female gender (OR =1.89) and job tenure of 6 to 10 years (OR = 1.95); working in a supportive organizational climate and membership in a supportive bargaining unit were protective of high impact (OR = 0.04 and OR = 0.59, respectively). High organizational impact (transferring to another position) was associated with regular NA and bullying (OR = 16.26), female gender (OR = 1.55), providing health care and field service (OR = 1.68), and protective effect of organizational climate (OR = 0.39). We found a dose-response relationship between bullying and both individual and organizational-level impact. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Understanding the impacts of WPB should serve to motivate more workplaces and unions to implement effective interventions to ameliorate the problem by enhancing the organizational climate, as well as management and employee training on the nature of WPB and guidance on reporting.

The JDCS Model and Blue-Collar Bullying: Decent Working Conditions for a Healthy Environment

Violence in the workplace and its health consequences still represent one of the main obstacles to obtaining decent working conditions. In particular, blue-collar workers run a greater risk of experiencing episodes of violence, also because of a lack of autonomy and fewer social interactions. According to the work environment hypothesis, factors such as high workload, lack of social support and lack of job control represent the antecedents of workplace bullying. Following the job demand-control-support model (JDCS), violence can be the symptom of a high-strain environment. Moreover, it is still unclear if workplace bullying can mediate the effects of work-related stress on workers' health outcomes. The aim of the present study is to analyse the relationship between the components of the JDCS and the health of the workers considering workplace bullying as a mediating variable. By a cross sectional study design, we tested the following theoretical hypotheses: first, JDCS components (conceptualized as stress) are supposed to significantly predict the level of workers' health. Second, workplace bullying is supposed to mediate the relationship between the JDCS components and the level of health. The sample consists of 400 blue-collars from three different Italian companies. Work-related stress, health outcomes and workplace bullying were measured by specific self-administered questionnaires and the relationships between the variables of interest were tested through a structural equation model (SEM) analysis. The results showed that while the direct relationship between the components of the JDCS and the level of psychological health is weaker (standardized path coefficients SPC = 0.21), the partial mediation hypothesis shows that workplace bullying mediate the relationship between JDCS components and health outcomes (χ²/df ratio = 2.70; path from stress to workplace bullying SPC = 0.78; path from workplace bullying to general health SPC = 0.51; p = 0.01). The JDCS components (workload, lack of control, lack of support) are useful predictors for workplace bullying. On the other hand, bullying plays a mediating role between the stress experienced and the health consequences. The present study adds new insights into the relationship between violence seen as a form of social behavioural strain and the psychological health of workers. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Future research on blue-collars could use longitudinal designs in order to analyse the relationship between social environment, job design and strain reactions.

Risk Factors for Workplace Bullying: A Systematic Review

Objective: The goal of this study was to systematically review risk factors for workplace bullying. Methods: The search was carried out in two databases. Studies with estimates of risk factors for workplace bullying were included in the review. We assessed the quality of the selected studies using an adapted version of the Downs and Black checklist. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analyses of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines were used for reporting papers. Results: Fifty-one papers were included, and 70.6% were from European countries. Women were reported to be at higher risk of being bullied in most studies (odds ratio (OR) from 1.17 to 2.77). Authoritarian and laissez-faire leadership styles were positively associated with bullying. Several psychosocial factors, such as stress (OR from 1.37 to 4.96), and occupational risks related to work organization, such as flexible work methods, role conflict, role ambiguity, monotonous or rotating tasks, high demands, pressure of work, and unclarity of duties were strongly associated with bullying. Discussion: The findings highlight the central role of organizational factors in bullying. Policies to prevent bullying must address the culture of organizations, facing the challenge of developing a new management and leadership framework.

Comparative psychometric review of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised in a unionized U.S. public sector workforce

BACKGROUND

Workplace violence is a global problem that includes actions collectively defined as bullying as perpetrated by a work colleague.

PURPOSE

Two distinct studies were conducted to assess the feasibility of using an abridged 6-item scale within the 21- item Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) designed to assess workplace bullying.

METHODS

The pilot study was a psychometric review of the 21-item NAQ-R, and the main study was conducted to determine the reliability and the validity of using a 6-item version. Cronbach's alpha assessed the internal consistency of the two versions of the NAQ-R. Validity was assessed using logistic regression with theoretically related constructs with a pilot study (n = 420) using the 21-item scale, followed by the main study (n = 11,874) using the 6-item version.

RESULTS

Both the pilot study (21-item)and the main study (6-item) versions of the NAQ-R demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.93-0.86, respectively). Similar to the 21-item, the 6-item version had a significant impact on the intent to remain on the job, being personally affected, and supported the protective role of the organizational climate against exposure to negative acts.

CONCLUSION

This study supports using the 6-item NAQ-R, which can reduce respondent burden and streamline data gathering and analysis.

Effort-Reward Imbalance: A Risk Factor for Exposure to Workplace Bullying

Previous research shows that work environment factors are important antecedents of workplace bullying (WB), because of the stress they may induce. While previous studies have typically used Karasek’s Job Demand-Control model or the Demands-Resources model, the present study investigates whether another important occupational stress model, that is the Effort-Reward Imbalance model, is also associated to WB. A survey study in 19 Belgian organizations (n = 5727) confirmed that employees experiencing an imbalance between efforts and reward were more likely to be targets of exposure to bullying. In line with previous research, this study illustrates that stressful situations increase the risk of exposure to WB. It shows that the perceived incongruence between effort and reward may increase employee vulnerability to bullying. The perceived injustice may lead employees to engage in norm-breaking behavior and also signal low social standing to others, thereby potentially eliciting negative behaviors from others.

Effects of workplace bullying on Chinese children's health, behaviours and school adjustment via parenting: study protocol for a longitudinal study

Background

Bullying in the workplace is a serious public health issue. As a chronic work stress, workplace bullying places the victims’ physical and mental health at risk which, in extreme cases, may lead to suicidal ideation. The high prevalence rate of workplace bullying has been reported and documented globally. However, a major limitation of the existing literature is that studies essentially focus on the consequences of workplace bullying on victims, including the psychological, physiological and socioeconomic impacts, and on the factors causing workplace bullying, but research on the impact of workplace bullying on the victims’ families is lacking. It is however evident that the consequences of workplace bullying have a spillover effect on the victims’ family members. Since many victims have children and given that children are particularly vulnerable to a negative family environment, examining the impacts of the type of parental stress induced by workplace bullying on children’s health including physical and psychological health (depression and self-esteem), externalizing problem behaviors (aggression, lying, disrespect) and school adjustment (academic performance and school conduct) is urgently needed. The overall aim of this study is to examine how health, externalizing problem behaviors and school adjustment of children whose parents are victims of workplace bullying may be associated with the impact that workplace bullying has on parenting practices.

Methods

It is a longitudinal study. Quantitative data will be collected from multi-informants, including currently employed Chinese parents, their children aged between 6 and 12 years old, and their class teachers at two time points, separated by a 1-year interval. One primary school will be recruited from each district of Hong Kong including participants with different socioeconomic backgrounds. At least 837 dyads (parents and children) from 18 primary schools will join the study.

Discussion

Workplace bullying not only affects victims but can also be harmful to their families as it alters the victims temper in the family environment. Results will be informative for the government and corporations to make concerted efforts and find strategies to prevent workplace bullying and to heighten the awareness of the importance of promoting safe and respectful workplaces for workers.

Do Interpersonal Conflict, Aggression and Bullying at the Workplace Overlap? A Latent Class Modeling Approach

In this paper, we tackle an important but unresolved research question: How distinct are workplace conflict, aggression and bullying? We study this question by means of latent class (LC) analysis using cross-industry data from 6,175 Belgian workers. We find a two-factor solution (conflict-aggression versus bullying) to provide the best fit to the data. Employees with low exposure to conflict-aggression and bullying perceived the phenomena as mostly overlapping. Employees who were exposed more frequently to the phenomena reported them to be more distinct - especially so for workplace bullying. We also find conflict-aggression and bullying to have distinct relationships with well-being and strain outcomes. These findings entail that a simple unifying approach or a single label for all three phenomena is not appropriate, at least from a measurement point of view and from the perspective of those exposed. Our results have important implications for the theoretical understanding of conflict, aggression and bullying, and for practitioners who provide support to affected employees including policymakers who help prevent and manage these problems at the workplace.

Impact of workplace bullying on employee outcomes: a study of Indian managerial employees

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of workplace bullying on innovative work behavior and neglect with defensive silence as a mediator. The study further examines if the presence of friendship networks in the workplace can weaken the negative impact of workplace bullying.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected through self-report questionnaires from 835 full-time Indian managerial employees working in different Indian organizations.

Findings

Results revealed that workplace bullying negatively related to innovative work behavior and positively related to neglect. Defensive silence mediated bullying–outcomes relationships and effects of workplace bullying on proposed outcomes were weaker in the presence of high workplace friendship.

Research limitations/implications

A cross-sectional design and use of self-reported questionnaire data are few limitations of this study.

Originality/value

The study extended the current research stream of workplace bullying to one of the underrepresented developing Asian countries, India. The study also contributes in terms of its sample characteristics as it covers managerial employees working across different organizations.

Exposure to Workplace Bullying: The Role of Coping Strategies in Dealing with Work Stressors

Studies investigating both work- and individual-related antecedents of workplace bullying are scarce. In reply, this study investigated the interaction between workload, job insecurity, role conflict, and role ambiguity (i.e., work-related antecedents), and problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies (i.e., individual-related antecedents) in association with exposure to workplace bullying. Problem-focused coping strategies were hypothesised to decrease (i.e., buffer) the associations between workload, job insecurity, role conflict, and role ambiguity and exposure to bullying, while emotion-focused coping strategies were hypothesised to increase (i.e., amplify) these associations. Results for a heterogeneous sample (N = 3,105) did not provide evidence for problem-focused coping strategies as moderators. As expected, some emotion-focused coping strategies amplified the associations between work-related antecedents and bullying: employees using "focus on and venting of emotions" or "behavioural disengagement" in dealing with job insecurity, role conflict, or role ambiguity were more likely to be exposed to bullying. Similarly, "seeking social support for emotional reasons" and "mental disengagement" amplified the associations of role ambiguity and the associations of both role conflict and role ambiguity, respectively. To prevent bullying, organisations may train employees in tempering emotion-focused coping strategies, especially when experiencing job insecurity, role conflict, or role ambiguity.

Linking Workplace Bullying and Work Engagement: The Mediating Role of Psychological Contract Violation

While decades of research on workplace bullying has resulted in a sound understanding of its consequences, the effects of workplace bullying on positive employee outcomes and the underlying mechanisms in bullying–outcomes relationships are not well understood. The present study examines the relationship between workplace bullying and work engagement and whether it is mediated by psychological contract violation (PCV). Data were gathered from a sample of 835 full-time managerial employees working in different Indian organizations across manufacturing and service sectors. Results suggest that workplace bullying is significantly related to work engagement and this relationship is partially mediated by PCV. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Aggression from Patients or Next of Kin and Exposure to Bullying Behaviors: A Conglomerate Experience?

Although workplace violence and aggression have been identified as important stressors in the nursing profession, studies simultaneously comparing patient-initiated aggression and exposure to bullying behaviors at work are rather scarce. The aim of this study was to compare aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors in terms of prevalence, health-related quality of life outcomes, and potential overlap in those targeted. In the period of 2008-2009, data were collected among 2059 members of the Norwegian Nurses Organization. Latent class (LC) analysis and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the proposed relationships. The results showed that aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors were perceived as separate and independent stressors. Although aggression from patients or next of kin was more frequent than workplace bullying, the latter was the only significant stressor related to health-related quality of life in terms of reduced mental health functioning. Although being a rather infrequent experience, exposure to bullying behaviors seems to have more severe health-related outcomes for nurses than aggression from patients or next of kin. Hence, the results of the study strengthen previous findings and suggest that managers must aim to maintain a positive psychosocial work environment with zero-tolerance for bullying.

Workplace aggression, psychological distress, and job satisfaction among Palestinian nurses: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Nurses can be exposed to aggressive behavior from patients, patient's relatives, colleagues and visitors.

PURPOSE

To determine the prevalence of workplace aggression among Palestinian nurses in the Hebron district and to examine cross-sectional associations between exposure to workplace aggression and the occurrence of psychological distress and job satisfaction.

METHODS

Of 372 nurses eligible for the study, 343 were included (response rate of 92.2%). The sample comprised 62% females and 38% males. The participants responded to questions about their socio-demographic status, workplace aggression (WHO questionnaires), psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-30), and job satisfaction (Generic Job Satisfaction Scale).

RESULTS

Ninety-three (27.1%) of the respondents reported exposure to workplace aggression of any kind. Seventeen (5%) reported exposure to physical aggression, 83 (24.2%) reported exposure to verbal aggression, and 25 (7.3%) reported exposure to bullying. The patients and the patients' relatives were the main sources of physical and verbal aggression, whereas colleagues were the main source of bullying. Males reported a higher prevalence of bullying than females. Younger nurses reported a higher prevalence of exposure to physical aggression, verbal aggression and bullying. Verbal aggression was associated with more psychological distress. Bullying was associated with lower job satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

More than a quarter of the nurses reported that they had been subject to some sort of aggression at the workplace. Verbal aggression was associated with higher psychological distress. Workplace bullying was associated with lower job satisfaction. Increased awareness and preventive measures to address this problem among health care workers are warranted.

The role of poor sleep in the relation between workplace bullying/unwanted sexual attention and long-term sickness absence

PURPOSE

While exposure to bullying and unwanted sexual attention was previously found to increase the risk of sickness absence, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Poor sleep can be a consequence of stressful exposures and a cause of poor health, and poor sleep is also a determinant of insufficient recovery. Therefore, the present study investigated whether poor sleep mediates and/or moderates the association between bullying and unwanted sexual attention, on the one hand, and long-term sickness absence (LTSA), on the other hand.

METHODS

We used questionnaire data from 7650 individuals contributing with 15,040 2-year observation periods. Workplace bullying, unwanted sexual attention, disturbed sleep, and difficulties awakening were measured at three time points, and participants were followed in registers to measure the occurrence of LTSA, defined as ≥30 consecutive days of sickness absence during the subsequent 2 years.

RESULTS

The odds of LTSA were significantly increased by workplace bullying (OR 1.77; 95 % CI 1.50-2.12) and unwanted sexual attention (OR 1.55; 95 % CI 1.06-2.29). Together, disturbed sleep and difficulties awakening mediated 12.8 % (95 % CI 8.1-19.8) of the association between bullying and long-term sickness absence, and 8.5 % (95 % CI -0.45 to 37.1) of the association between unwanted sexual attention and long-term sickness absence in the fully adjusted model. Neither disturbed sleep nor difficulties awakening moderated these associations.

CONCLUSION

As expected, bullying and unwanted sexual attention were prospectively associated with long-term sickness absence. Only a small part of this association was mediated by poor sleep.

The Prevalence of Coworker Conflict Including Bullying in a Unionized U.S. Public Sector Workforce

Workplace violence is an enormous problem worldwide; incidents where the perpetrator is a current or former employee are an important dimension. This large cross-sectional survey examined the prevalence of this problem among a U.S. state government unionized public sector workforce. Using participatory action research methods, we conducted a web-based survey of members of that workforce from a single northeast U.S. state, receiving 11,874 completed surveys (response rate: 71.8%). Overall, 10.0% of the respondents indicated that they had been bullied at work during the prior 6 months, with 71.9% of those who reported regular bullying identifying the perpetrator as a supervisor and/or top management. The prevalence of bullying was similar to the rates reported in Europe and Scandinavia (5%-30%). Those reports also identified the person(s) responsible for the behavior as being predominantly of higher status within the organization.

Risk factors of workplace bullying for men and women: the role of the psychosocial and physical work environment

Workplace bullying has been shown to be a severe social stressor at work, resulting in high costs both for the individuals and organizations concerned. The aim of this study is to analyze risk factors in a large, nationally representative sample of Finnish employees (n = 4,392). The study makes three important contributions to the existing literature on workplace bullying: first, it demonstrates the role of the physical work environment alongside the psychosocial work environment - employees with a poor physical work environment are more likely than others to report having been subjected to or having observed bullying. Second, contrary to common assumptions, the results suggest that performance-based pay is associated with a lower, rather than higher risk of bullying. Third, the findings suggest that there are gender differences in risk factors, thereby constituting a call for more studies on the role of gender when identifying risk factors. Increased knowledge of risk factors is important as it enables us to take more effective measures to decrease the risk of workplace bullying.

Identifying victims of workplace bullying by integrating traditional estimation approaches into a latent class cluster model

Research findings underline the negative effects of exposure to bullying behaviors and document the detrimental health effects of being a victim of workplace bullying. While no one disputes its negative consequences, debate continues about the magnitude of this phenomenon since very different prevalence rates of workplace bullying have been reported. Methodological aspects may explain these findings. Our contribution to this debate integrates behavioral and self-labeling estimation methods of workplace bullying into a measurement model that constitutes a bullying typology. Results in the present sample (n = 1,619) revealed that six different groups can be distinguished according to the nature and intensity of reported bullying behaviors. These clusters portray different paths for the workplace bullying process, where negative work-related and person-degrading behaviors are strongly intertwined. The analysis of the external validity showed that integrating previous estimation methods into a single measurement latent class model provides a reliable estimation method of workplace bullying, which may overcome previous flaws.

An operative measure of workplace bullying: the negative acts questionnaire across Italian companies

Workplace bullying has been a topic of increasing interest since the 90s. Several studies have contributed to a better understanding of the antecedents and consequences of being exposed to negative acts at work during a prolonged period of time. However, there is a lack of validated instruments in Italian to map workplace bullying. Consequently, the goal of the present study is twofold. First, the authors aim to validate the Italian version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R: Einarsen and Hoel, 2001; Einarsen, et al., 2009). Second, the authors aim to establish the prevalence of workplace bullying. Results from 3,112 employees nested within 25 Italian organizations revealed that a reduced version of 17 items with a two-factor structure provided the best fit. Moreover, the prevalence of bullying was 15.2 per cent according to the criteria proposed by Mikkelsen and Einarsen (2001). Furthermore, significant correlations between bullying dimensions and organizational climate were found, which provided additional support for using the NAQ-Italian reduced version. Implications to prevent bullying and improve employees' well-being using this method are discussed.

Conceptualizations of Workplace Bullying

Two studies were conducted to examine the significance of gender for how employees define workplace bullying and how severe they rate different forms of bullying to be. The first study showed that female employees emphasized emotional abuse and professional discredit more than male employees in their definitions of bullying, while men emphasized abusive working conditions more than women. The second study showed that female employees rated the severity of many types of negative acts as somewhat more severe than men did. These studies question the prevailing assumption that bullying is a gender-neutral phenomenon and instead provide converging support for the notion that perceptions of bullying are gendered. The discussion addresses implications for interventions and HR practice.