Neutralizing workplace bullying: the buffering effects of contextual factors

Abstract

Purpose. This paper examines the direct and buffering effects of three workplace contextual factorsconstructive leadership, perceived organizational support, and organizational antibullying initiativeson bullying and its relationships with relevant criteria. Further, the paper investigates the effectiveness of organizational initiatives against bullying as perceived by targets and non-targets. Method. Data were collected from 727 employees in nine New Zealand healthcare organizations. Of these, 133 employees were classified as bullied, as they had experienced at least two negative acts per week over the last 6 months. Findings. Correlations revealed negative relationships between the three contextual work factors and bullying. Moderated regression showed that perceived organizational support buffered the relationship of bullying with self-rated job performance, and that organizational initiatives against bullying buffered the relationship of bullying with both wellbeing and organizational Neutralizing workplace bullying 2 commitment. Targets consistently gave lower ratings than non-targets of the effectiveness of organizational initiatives to address bullying. Implications. These results show that contextual factors are important in workplace bullying. They were directly associated with lower levels of bullying and buffered the negative impacts of workplace bullying both through anti-bullying initiatives and perceived organizational support. Further research is needed into effective ways for organizations to counter bullying. Originality. There is scant research on workplace factors that may reduce bullying and buffer its negative effects. Our paper makes an original contribution in providing evidence of the importance of three contextual factors, and of buffering effects for perceived organizational support and organizational initiatives against bullying.

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

“…With respect to organisational leadership, our findings indicate that production and achievement‐oriented leadership style is a protective factor for workplace bullying among junior doctors. In relation to the findings of previous studies, many have focused on the relationship between autocratic leadership, laissez‐faire leadership, transformational leadership, authentic leadership, ethical leadership, constructive leadership, and workplace bullying. None have examined the relationship of production and achievement‐oriented leadership style with workplace bullying specifically.…”

“…Organisational support has been defined as “employees' global beliefs concerning the extent to which the organisation values their contributions and care about their well‐being.” Its specific antecedents include support from agents of organisations such as superiors and human resource management systems that recognises the importance of human capital . The findings of previous studies indicate that organisational support is significantly related to workplace bullying . In the context of junior doctors' work environments, it is assumed that low organisational support may perpetuate bullying at work.…”

Workplace bullying and burnout among healthcare employees: The moderating effect of control‐related resources

“…By doing so, we respond to Nielsen and Einarsen’s () call for empirical assessments of moderating variables that can attenuate the effects of bullying. In line with the job demands–resources theory, and following previous research (e.g., Cooper‐Thomas et al, ), we refer to workplace bullying as a job demand, while job autonomy and occupational self‐efficacy are considered as resources. Our proposed model is presented in Figure .…”

Are Bullying Behaviors Tolerated in Some Cultures? Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship Between Workplace Bullying and Job Satisfaction Among Italian Workers

“…For example, Djurkovic et al ( 2008 ), in a sample of 335 schoolteachers, found that workplace bullying was more strongly related to employees' intention to leave the organization among participants who perceived low organizational support than among participants who perceived high organizational support (in this condition the effects of bullying on intention to leave were non-significant indeed). In a similar vein, Cooper- Thomas et al ( 2013 ) indicated that perceived organizational support buffered the relationship of bullying with self-rated job performance in a sample of 727 New Zealand employees from nine healthcare organizations.…”