Individual Consequences of Being Exposed to Workplace Bullying

Mikkelsen, Eva Gemzøe; Hansen, Åse Marie; Persson, Roger; Byrgesen, Maj Fosgrau; Høgh, Annie

doi:10.1201/9780429462528-6

Cited by 46 publications

(44 citation statements)

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“…Workplace bullying and harassment is a prevalent problem in contemporary workplaces all around the globe ( van de Vliert and Einarsen, 2014 ; Zapf et al, 2020 ), with documented devastating effects on the targets health and well-being ( Niedhammer et al, 2012 ; Lesuffleur et al, 2014 ; Nielsen and Einarsen 2018 ; Jacobsen et al, 2020 ; Mikkelsen et al, 2020 ). The concept of workplace bullying and harassment refers to a systematic form of aggression and social exclusion where an employee, persistently and over a period of time, is exposed to negative actions from superiors or coworkers where the employee finds it difficult to defend himself/herself against the aggression ( Olweus, 1993 ; Einarsen et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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“…He also argued that the capacity of policies to prevent or resolve the problem is limited. Hoel, Cooper and Einarsen [ 3 ] also highlighted that the economic cost of bullying has received little attention which is somewhat surprising given the magnitude of the problem [ 4 ], and the effect of bullying on the individuals targeted [ 5 , 6 ]. This would undoubtedly represent a substantial cost to the organization, whether through payouts to settle claims of bullying and harassment or affecting levels of absenteeism, turnover and productivity as well as team and group performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bullying and Harassment in Downsized Workplaces: What Can We Learn from the 2008 Icelandic Economic Collapse?

Sigursteinsdóttir

Rafnsdóttir

Jónsdóttir

2020

IJERPH

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Research shows that bullying is a significant workplace issue. A previous study showed increased sickness-related absences among municipality employees during the Icelandic economic crisis in 2008. This led to the following research questions: has bullying and/or harassment increased between the time points of the study up to seven years after the crisis? Did bullying and/or harassment change depending on downsizing? Are quantitative job demands, role conflicts and social support connected to bullying and/or harassment at work and if so, how? The study is based on a four-wave longitudinal balanced panel dataset consisting of those who work within the education and care services operated by Icelandic municipalities. It was seen that bullying and harassment had increased between the time points of the study. Furthermore, employees in downsized workplaces, workplaces with higher quantitative job demands, more role conflicts and less support were more likely to experience bullying and/or harassment than employees in other workplaces. Since the effects may prevail for several years, the study demonstrates that the consequences of downsizing need to be carefully considered and that managers must be supported in that role. As economic crises tend to occur periodically, presently due to COVID-19, the knowledge is both of theoretical and practical importance.

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“…There are a variety of negative consequences associated with workplace bullying for individuals (Mikkelsen et al, 2020) and organisations (Hoel et al, 2020), necessitating action to curb bullying behaviours. However, there is still rather limited information on the role of different actorssuch as the role of human resource professionals (HRPs)in workplace bullying.…”

Section: Role Of Hrps In Managing Workplace Bullyingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of human resource professionals (HRPs) in managing workplace bullying: perspectives from HRPs and employee representatives in Australia

Djurkovic

McCormack

Hoel

et al. 2021

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the perspectives of human resource professionals (HRPs) and employee representatives (ERs) on the role of HRPs in managing workplace bullying.Design/methodology/approachIndividual interviews were conducted with 12 HRPs and five ERs from a wide range of industries. Interview questions were open-ended and sought to gain insight on the views of the individual interviewees.FindingsThe findings address the role of HRPs in bullying scenarios and in the prevention of bullying. Regarding the role of HRPs in bullying, the responses of the participants suggest confusion and ambiguity, with a variety of roles being described ranging from a support-based role through to a protector of management. The participants also noted the importance of the HRP task of policy development, while a distrust of HRPs in bullying scenarios was mentioned. Regarding the effective management and prevention of bullying, the findings demonstrate that HRPs are viewed as having a central role through their particular responsibilities of creating and nurturing a positive organisational culture, as well as through engaging employees in the development of anti-bullying policies.Practical implicationsHRPs believe that they can contribute significantly to reducing workplace bullying through organisational culture (including educating staff and as role models of behaviour) and by engaging staff in the design of anti-bullying policies.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the literature on workplace bullying by examining within the Australian context the perspectives of HRPs and ERs on how HRPs can prevent and manage workplace bullying.

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Individual Consequences of Being Exposed to Workplace Bullying

Cited by 46 publications

References 1 publication

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

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

Bullying and Harassment in Downsized Workplaces: What Can We Learn from the 2008 Icelandic Economic Collapse?

The role of human resource professionals (HRPs) in managing workplace bullying: perspectives from HRPs and employee representatives in Australia

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