Understanding health outcomes following workplace aggression: A social exchange perspective

Abstract

This study explored health outcomes following workplace aggression among social workers in Israel. Grounded in the social exchange theory, a relationship‐based perspective was used to explain the mechanism through which exposure to workplace aggression results in employee outcomes. Reports of employees and managers were analysed with respect to the impact of varied forms of aggressive behaviours perpetrated by clients and co‐workers on posttraumatic stress and somatic symptoms. The intervening effects on symptoms of two forms of perceived organisational support, organisational procedural support and interpersonal co‐worker support operationalised as team trust were examined. Overall, 548 employees and 89 managers in 31 social services departments completed self‐report questionnaires. Results revealed positive associations between exposure to both co‐worker and client aggression, and posttraumatic stress and somatic symptoms. Importantly, while perceived organisational support is often equated with social support, this study found that two elements, organisational procedural support and team trust, had differing impacts on somatic and posttraumatic stress symptoms following WPA. Specifically, team trust was negatively associated with symptoms, while organisational procedural support showed no effect. This study has important implications for timely prevention measures to deal with workplace aggressions and valuable directions for future studies.

Emotional responses in archival work

“…As noted earlier, organizational factors such as workload, organizational climate, social support and supervision (Bell et al 2003 ; Carpenter et al 2013 ; Davis-Sacks et al 1985 ; McFadden et al 2015 ; Sloan et al 2019 ) can significantly influence emotional response to affective events. When an organization is perceived to value the contribution of workers and support their well-being, workers are better able to cope with the emotional demands of the job (Alfandari et al 2022 ; Elpers and Westhuis 2008 ).…”

“…The nature of the organizational environment has also been found to mitigate emotional response to workplace trauma exposure including factors such as workload, organizational climate, social support and supervision (Bell et al 2003 ; Carpenter et al 2013 ; Davis-Sacks et al 1985 ; McFadden et al 2015 ; Sloan et al 2019 ). When an organization is perceived to value the contribution of workers and support their well-being, workers are better able to cope with the emotional demands of the job and have better work–home life balance (Alfandari et al 2022 ; Elpers and Westhuis 2008 ).…”

Stop! I am Shaking: Workplace Aggression and Anxiety among Interns in Klang Valley

“…The common type of aggression is verbal aggression which is defined as a series of words that are intended to inflict intense humiliation-denigration-fear on others such as verbal insults, threats and undermining (Cao et al 2022). Aggression in the workplace correlates with psychological disorders as it can cause an individual to feel depression, anxiety, low self-confidence, distress and disappointment (Alfandari et al, 2022) and this notorious social behavior could yield professional consequences for instance, absenteeism, poor work quality, and turnover (Geoffrion et al, 2023). Workplace aggression can be expressed into workplace bullying, abusive supervision and interpersonal conflict as this phenomenon is an ongoing or recurrent abuse of power that takes place through human interaction, undermines the dignity of the relationship, and impairs effective workforce management (Ahmad, 2022).…”

Workplace aggression, wellbeing, and job satisfaction: The specificity in border police organizations

“…Among the affective consequences of exposure to workplace aggression that have received, the most attention in the literature is emotional wellbeing at work ( Schat and Kelloway, 2000 ; LeBlanc and Kelloway, 2002 ; Nel and Coetzee, 2020 ; Alfandari et al, 2022 ) and job satisfaction ( Budd et al, 1996 ; Keashly et al, 1997 ; Tepper, 2000 ; Quine, 2001 ; Vartia and Hyyti, 2002 ; Lapierre et al, 2005 ; Duffy et al, 2006 ; Aquino and Thau, 2009 ; Rodríguez-Muñoz et al, 2009 ; Caillier, 2021 ), probably because of the important organizational and personal consequences associated with both constructs. In sum, the impact of workplace aggression on wellbeing at work and job satisfaction not only has a potential personal cost but also affects performance and society as a whole.…”