Contrary to the impression generated by an increasing number of news reports in the past several years, the occurrence of workplace violencemextreme acts of aggression involving direct physical assault represents a relatively rare event in work settings. However, workplace aggression--efforts by individuals to harm others with whom they work or have worked---are much more prevalent and may prove extremely damaging to individuals and organizations. This paper presents empirical evidence on the varied forms of workplace aggression and their relative frequency of occurrence in work settings. We offer a theoretical framework for understanding this phenomenon---one based on contemporary theories of human aggression----and demonstrate how principles associated with this framework may be applied to the management and prevention of all forms of aggression in workplaces.

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Although much research has been done on workplace aggression and bullying over the past two decades, academics have paid relatively little attention to bullying in their own institutions. In this article, we discuss what is currently known about bullying in academia, with a particular focus on faculty behavior, and apply empirical and conceptual findings from research on aggression and bullying in other work settings and the significant literature on conflict management in higher education. We begin by describing the nature and prevalence of aggression and bullying in higher education. Drawing on well-established findings from interpersonal aggression research, we discuss several important social, situational, and contextual antecedents to aggression (including academic culture, climate, values, and work practices) and demonstrate how these may serve as causes and consequences of bullying. Embedded in this discussion, we offer a number of specific propositions for future research. We conclude with a discussion of possible actions for prevention and management of bullying in higher educational settings.In the 1990s, researchers began to discuss, and explore, bullying among adults in work settings (Leymann, 1990). For the better part of the past two decades, a growing number of researchers (ourselves included) have been conducting research on this and related phenomena (e.g., workplace aggression and violence, mobbing, emotional abuse, etc.). Surprisingly, university-

Four hundred fifty‐two employed persons rated the frequency with which they had been the victims of a wide range of aggressive actions at work. In addition, they also rated the frequency with which they themselves had aggressed against others in their workplaces. Three hypotheses were investigated: (1) covert forms of aggression, in which aggressors seek to conceal their identity from target persons, are significantly more frequent in workplaces than overt forms of aggression; (2) the greater the perceived injustice reported by employees, the greater their tendency to engage in workplace aggression; and (3) the higher individuals' scores on a measure of the Type A Behavior Pattern, the greater their reported frequency of engaging in various forms of workplace aggression. Results offered support for all three hypotheses. In addition, several demographic variables (participants' age and gender; the physical location of their workplaces) were also found to play a role in the occurrence of workplace aggression. Together, these findings were interpreted as underscoring the importance of establishing close conceptual links between research on workplace aggression and basic research on human aggression. Aggr. Behav. 25:281–296, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

and we believe there are substantial theoretical and practical benefits to be derived in studying them as such.In this chapter, we argue the merits of this position and provide theoretical and empirical support for this line of reasoning. We begin by focusing on the need for concept clarity and an integrating framework for exploring the many behaviors subsumed in this text and follow this discussion with a definition of aggression in general and of workplace aggression in particular. Within this discussion, we describe the defining characteristics of aggression and violence and then compare and contrast these 13