Dominant Culture and Bullying; Personal Accounts of Workers in Malaysia

Abstract

Workplace bullying has been termed the cancer of the workplace; it is a widespread and often intractable problem. Internationally, a wealth of research has examined the prevalence of workplace bullying and its negative effects. This research base and the scientific definition of workplace bullying are, however, based on Western perspectives and supported by theories, models, and research studies conducted in Western

Organisational antecedents of workplace victimisation: The role of organisational climate, culture, leadership, support, and justice in predicting junior doctors' exposure to bullying at work

“…Finally, though care was taken to identify potential confounders from the literature and adjust each association accordingly, residual confounding may still be an issue. Though we had adjusted for sociodemographic, employment, and individual trait characteristics, other factors that have been linked to workplace bullying such as social, coping and problem‐solving skills, organisational change, and societal norms and culture were not able to be included in this study due to limited resources.…”

“…The study findings generate hypotheses that could be tested in more robust studies such as longitudinal studies to enable the ascertainment of cause‐and‐effect. Future studies examining workplace bullying among junior doctors may also focus on variables linked to workplace bullying that were not examined in this study, including psychological capital, social, coping and problem‐solving skills, conflict management styles, core self‐evaluations, organisational change, and societal norms and culture . In addition, supplementing quantitative findings with qualitative findings and considering the perpetrators' perspectives may allow for a more holistic and comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.…”

The Malaysian Workplace Bullying Index (MWBI): A new measure of workplace bullying in Eastern countries

“…Workplace bullying is an emerging concept in Malaysia too. Bullying is reported by Kwan et al [6] as part of the dominant culture of Malaysian organisations. Employees feel pressure to acquiesce to bullying situations because such behavior represents power and authority within the organisation.…”

“…Eastern-based research has revealed different notions of bullying. Malaysian employees view bullying, particularly work-related bullying behaviors, as common and expected-a form of institutionalised mistreatment based on the power hierarchy in Malay culture, and physical intimidation is not a factor [6]. Likewise, Loh, Restubog, and Zagenczyk [7] argued that Eastern employees perceive workplace bullying as a common practice that forms part of the organisational culture.…”

Fake News in the Corporate World: A Rising Threat

“…If so, workplace bullying would be expected to be more common in African and some Asian societies in comparison with European countries. For instance Malaysia ranks high in power distance and low in uncertainty avoidance, and the country reports high levels of workplace bullying at the corporate level (Kwan, Tuckey, & Dollard, 2014). Accordingly, to understand workplace bullying, it is necessary to also take into account the cultural context in which it occurs.…”