Journal Press India®

Workplace Bullying a Topic to be Pondered: A Conceptual Study

Vol 9 , Issue 2 , July - December 2023 | Pages: 197-219 | Research Paper  

https://doi.org/10.58419/gbs.v9i2.922314


Author Details ( * ) denotes Corresponding author

1. Kaveri C. S., Assistant Professor, Management Studies, AIMS-IBS, Bangalore, Karnataka, India (cskaverimurali@gmail.com)
2. Saiganesh S., Dy.Director, Management Studies, Dayananda Sagar Business School, Bangalore, Karnataka, India (saaigee@yahoo.com)

Bullies in the workplace, those who insult, degrade, and threaten their co-workers, cost businesses billions of dollars every year. Although it is thought that 55 million people experience emotional abuse at work annually, U.S. businesses are still unable to identify and address this issue. Organizations have a duty to safeguard their employees from the psychological harassment of a workplace bully; hence workplace bullying needs to be thoroughly researched. Corporate leaders that actively combat this social issue will more successfully achieve their organisational goals because workplace bullying has a detrimental influence on a company's profitability. This study is an attempt to understand the concept of workplace bullying and its impact on organisation productivity as well as employee performance. The concept has been discussed widely along with few significant suggestions which the organisations can implement to get better productivity and greater employee performance.

Keywords

Workplace bullying, Harassing, Work environment, Employee productivity

  1. Adams, A., & Crawford, N. (1992). Bullying at work: How to confront and overcome it. London: Virago, Press.
  2. Andersson, L.M., Pearson, C.M. (1999). Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management. The Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 452-471.
  3. Aquino, K., & Bradfield, M. (2000). Perceived victimization in the workplace: The role of situational factors and victim characteristics. Organization Science, 11(5), 525–537. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.11.5.525.15205
  4. Bairy, K. L., Thirumalaikolundusubramanian, P., Sivagnanam, G., Saraswathi, S., Sachidananda, A., & Shalini, A. (2007). Bullying among trainee doctors in Southern India: A questionnaire study. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 53(2), 87-90.
  5. Bairy, K. L., Thirumalaikolundusubramanian, P., Sivagnanam, G., Saraswathi, S., Sachidananda, A., & Shalini, A. (2007). Bullying among trainee doctors in Southern India: A questionnaire study. Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 53(2), 87-90.
  6. Bakhshi, A., & Gupta, R. (2016). Personal and job related correlates of employee engagement at work. Indian Journal of Community Psychology, 12, 312-317.
  7. Baron, R.A., Neuman, J.H. (1998). Workplace aggression--the iceberg beneath the tip of workplace violence: Evidence of its forms, frequency, and targets. Public Administration Quarterly, 21(4), 446-464
  8. Bjorkqvist, K., Osterman, K., & Hjelt-Back, M. (1992). The Work Harassment Scale. Vasa, Finland: Abo Akademi University.
  9. Bjorkqvist, K., Osterman, K., & Hjelt-Back, M. (1992). The Work Harassment Scale. Vasa, Finland: Abo Akademi University.
  10. Bowling, N. A., & Beehr, T. A. (2006). Workplace harassment from the victim's perspective: A theoretical model and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(5), 998–1012. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.5.998
  11. Bowman, J.S., & Jude-Zigmond, C. (1997). State government response to workplace violence. Public Personnel Management, 26(2), 289-299.
  12. Branch, S., Ramsay, S. and Barker, M. (2013), Workplace bullying, mobbing and general harassment: A review, International Journal of Management Reviews, 15, pp. 280-299 DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-2370.2012.00339.x
  13. Ciby, M., & Raya, R. P. (2015). Workplace bullying: A review of the defining features, measurement methods and prevalence across continents. IIM Kozhikode Society & Management Review, 4, 38-47. doi:10.1177/2277975215587814.
  14. Cohen, A. (2010). Workplace bullying: New York bill targets abusive bosses. Time Magazine. Retrieved August 7, 2010 from http://news.yahoo.com/s/ time/20102721/ us_time/08599200535800
  15. Coombs, T.W., Holladay, S. J. (2004). Understanding the aggressive workplace: Development of the workplace aggression tolerance questionnaire. Communication Studies, 55(3), 481-497.
  16. Coyne, I., Craig, J., & Chong, P.S. (2004). Workplace Bullying in a Group Context. British Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 32(3), 301 – 317.
  17. Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among the five traditions. Thousands Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.
  18. D’Cruz, P. (2016b). Interpersonal and depersonalized bullying at work. In K. R. Shyam Sundar (Eds.), Dynamics of globalization and industrial relations in India (pp. 183-204). New Delhi, India: Daanish.
  19. D’Cruz, P., & Rayner, C. (2015). The incidence of interpersonal workplace bullying in India’s ITES-BPO sector. Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 57, 221-242.
  20. Davenport, N., Schwartz, R.D., & Elliot, G.P. (2002). Mobbing: Emotional abuse in the American workplace. Ames, IA: Civil Society Publishing.
  21. Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2003). The landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  22. Dieter Zapf & Cary Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice (pp.165 - 185). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
  23. Djurkovic, N., McCormack, D., Casimir, G. (2005). The behavioral reactions of victims to different types of workplace bullying. International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, 8(4), 439-460.
  24. Druckman, D. (2005). Doing research: Methods of inquiry for conflict analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  25. earson, C.M. & Porath, C.L. (2005). On the nature, consequences and remedies of workplace incivility: No time for “nice”? Think again. Academy of Management Executive, 19(1), 7-18.
  26. Einarsen, Helge Hoel, Dieter Zapf & Cary Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice (pp.165 - 184). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
  27. Einarsen, S., & Mikkelsen, E.M. (2003). Individual effects of exposure to bullying at work. In Stale
  28. Einarsen, S., Hoel, H. & Nielsen, M. B. Workplace Bullying, http://www.arbeidstilsynet.no/binfil/download2.php?tid=97307
  29. Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D, Cooper, C. (2003). The concept of bullying at work. In Stale Einarsen, Helge Hoel, Dieter Zapf & Cary Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice (pp.3 - 30). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
  30. Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D., & Cooper, C. L. (2011). The concept of bullying and harassment at work: The European tradition. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and harassment in the workplace: Developments in theory, research, and practice (pp. 3-40). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
  31. Einarsen, Ståle & Hoel, Helge & Notelaers, Guy. (2009). Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: Validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. Work and Stress. 23. 24-44. 10.1080/02678370902815673.
  32. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (n.d.). Retrieved June 11, 2005 from www.eeoc.gov. Einarsen, S. (1999). The nature and causes of bullying at work. International Journal of Manpower, 20(1/2).
  33. Galanaki, E. and Papalexandris, N. (2013), Measuring workplace bullying in organisations, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24 (11), pp. 2107-2130 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2012.725084
  34. Gardner, S. and Johnson, P.R. (2001). The leaner meaner workplace: Strategies for handling bullies at work. Employee Relations Today, 28(2), 23-36.
  35. Giorgi, G. (2012), Workplace bullying in academia creates a negative work environment: An italian study, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 24, pp. 261-275 DOI 10.1007/s10672-012-9193-7
  36. Glambek, M., Matthiesen, S. B., Hetland, J. and Einarsen, S. (2014), Workplace bullying as an antecedent to job insecurity and intention to leave: A 6-month prospective study, Human Resource Management Journal, 24 (3), pp. 255-268 DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12035
  37. Glambek, Mats & Skogstad, Anders & Einarsen, Ståle. (2020). Does the number of perpetrators matter? An extension and re-analysis of workplace bullying as a risk factor for exclusion from working life. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology. 30. 10.1002/casp.2456.
  38. Glendinning, P.M. (2001, Fall). Workplace bullying: Curing the cancer of the American workplace. Public Personnel Management, 30(3), 269-287.
  39. Granstra, K. (2015), Student essay-Nurse against nurse: Horizontal bullying in the nursing profession, Journal of Healthcare Management, 60 (4), July/August, pp. 249-257.
  40. Gupta, R. (2013a). Impact of workplace bullying on employee wellbeing: A concern for organizations. Asian Academic Research Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 1(12), 204-213.
  41. Gupta, R. (2013b). Prevalence of workplace bullying and its impact on workplace well-being in academia. Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing, 4, 503-505.
  42. Harvey, M.G., Heames, J. T., Richey, R. G., Leonard, N. (2006). Bullying: From the playground to the boardroom. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 12(4), 1-11.
  43. Hauge LJ, Skogstad A, Einarsen S. The relative impact of workplace bullying as a social stressor at work. Scand J Psychol. 2010 Oct;51(5):426-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2010.00813.x. PMID: 20338011.
  44. Hauge, L. J., Einarsen, S., Knardahl, S., Lau, B., Notelaers, G., & Skogstad, A. (2011). Leadership and role stressors as departmental level predictors of workplace bullying. International Journal of Stress Management, 18(4), 305–323. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025396
  45. Hauge, L.J., Skogstad, A. & Einarsen, S. (2007). Relationships Between Stressful Working Environments and Bullying: Results of a Large Representative Study. Work & Stress, 21(3), 220-242.
  46. Hodson, R., Roscigno, V.J, & Lopez, S.H. (2006). Chaos and the abuse of power: Workplace bullying in organizational and interactional context. Work and Occupations, 33, 382 – 415.
  47. Hoel, H. & Salin, D. (2003). Organizational antecedents of bullying. In Stale Einarsen, Helge Hoel, Dieter Zapf & Cary Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice (pp.203-218). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
  48. Job Stress (n.d.). American Institute for Stress. Retrieved June 24, 2005, from http://www.stress.org/job.htm
  49. Keashly, L. & Jagatic, K. (2003). By any other name: American perspectives on workplace bullying. In Stale Einarsen, Helge Hoel, Dieter Zapf & Cary Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice (pp.31-62). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
  50. Keashly, L. & Neuman, J.H. (2004). Bullying in the Workplace: Its Impact and Management. Employee Rights and Employment Policy, 8(3), 335-373
  51. Keashly, L. (1998). Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: Conceptual and Empirical Issues. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 1(1), 85-117.
  52. Keashly, L. (2002). Interpersonal and Systemic Aspects of Emotional Abuse at Work: The Target’s Perspective. Violence and Victims, 16(3), 233-268.
  53. Krippendorf, K. (2004). Content Analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  54. Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  55. Leymann, H. (1996). The Content and Development of Mobbing at Work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 165-184.
  56. Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & McDermott, V. (2008). The Constitution of Employee-Abusive Organizations: A Communication Flows Theory. Communication Theory, 18, 304-333.
  57. Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2003). The communicative cycle of employee abuse: Generation and regeneration of workplace mistreatment. Management Communication Quarterly, 16(4).
  58. Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2006). Take this job and . . . : Quitting and other forms of resistance to workplace bullying. Communication Monographs, 73(4), 406-33.
  59. Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2008). Intensive remedial identity work: Responses to workplace bullying trauma and stigmatization. Organization, 15(1), 97-119.
  60. Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Tracy, S.J., Alberts, J.K. (2007). Burned by Bullying in the American Workplace: Prevalence, Perception, Degree, and Impact. Journal of Management Studies, 44(6), 837 – 862.
  61. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2006). Designing qualitative research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  62. Matthiesen, S.B., Einarsen, S. (2007). Perpetrators and Targets of Bullying at Work: Role Stress and Individual Differences. Violence and Victims, 22, 735 – 753.
  63. Merriam, S.B. (2001). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
  64. Mikkelsen, E. G., & Einarsen, S. (2001). Bullying in Danish work-life: Prevalence and health correlates. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 393-413.
  65. Mikkelsen, E. G., & Einarsen, S. (2002). Basic assumptions and post- traumatic stress among victims of bullying at work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11(1), 87-111.
  66. Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  67. Moayed, F. A., Daraiseh, N., Shell, R. and Salem, S. (2006), Workplace bullying: A systematic review of risk factors and outcomes, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 7 (3), May-June, pp. 311-327 DOI: 10.1080/14639220500090604
  68. Namie, G. (2003). Workplace bullying: Escalated incivility. Ivey Business Journal, November/December 2003.
  69. Namie, G., & Namie, R. (2003). The bully at work: What you can do to stop the hurt and reclaim your dignity on the job. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
  70. Naseem K, Ali M. Impact of work demand constraints on psychological distress through workplace bullying and personality traits: A moderated-mediation model. Front Psychol. 2023 Mar 2;13:965835. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.965835. PMID: 36938125; PMCID: PMC10018554.
  71. Nielsen, M. B. and Einarsen, S. (2012), Outcomes of exposure to workplace bullying: A meta-analytic review, Work and Stress, 26 (4), OctoberDecember, pp. 309-332.
  72. OSHA’s Mission. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Retrieved June 10, 2005 from http://www. osha. gov/ oshinfo/ mission.html
  73. Öztürk, D. (2011), Workplace Bullying: Its Reflection Upon Organizational Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior Perceptions among Public Sector Employees, Master Thesis Graduate School of Social Sciences of Middle East Technical University
  74. Park, Heungsik, Bjørkelo, Brita and Blenkinsopp, John (2020) External Whistleblowers’ Experiences of Workplace Bullying by Superiors and Colleagues. Journal of Business Ethics, 161 (3). pp. 591-601. ISSN 0167-4544
  75. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. P
  76. Rayner, C. (1997). The incidence of workplace bullying. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 7, pp. 199 – 208, Retrieved November 22, 2008 from EbscoHost database.
  77. Rayner, C., Hoel, H., & Cooper, C. L. (2002). Workplace bullying: What we know, who is to blame, and what can we do? London: Taylor & Francis.
  78. Rugala, E.A., & Isaacs, A.R. (Eds.). (n.d.). Workplace violence: Issues in response. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved June 24, 2005 from www.fbi.gov/publications/violence.pdf
  79. Salin, D. (2003, Oct). Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of enabling, motivating and precipitating structures and processes in the work environment. Human Relations, 56(10).
  80. Schwarz, R. (2002). The skilled facilitator: A comprehensive resource for consultants,Facilitators, managers, trainers, and coaches. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  81. Sheehan, M. (1999). Workplace bullying: Responding with some emotional intelligence. International Journal of Manpower, 20(1/2).
  82. Skogstad, A., Matthiesen, S.B., & Einarsen, S. (2007). Organizational Changes: A Precursor of Bullying at Work. International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior, 10(1), 58 – 94.
  83. Stake, R.E. (2003). Case Studies. In Norman K. Denzin and Yvonna S. Lincoln (Eds.) Strategies of Qualitative Inquiry (pp. 134-164). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  84. Stress at Work. Updated January 7, 1999. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (DHHS [NIOSH] Publication No. 99-101). Retrieved June 24, 2005 from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html
  85. Sypher, B.D. (2004). Reclaiming civil discourse in the workplace. The Southern Communication Journal, 69(3), 257-270.
  86. Tepper, B.J., Duffy, M.K., Henle, C.A., Lambert, L.S. (2006). Procedural Injustice, Victim, Precipitation, and Abusive Supervision. Personnel Psychology, 59 (1), 101-123.
  87. Tracy, S.J., Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Alberts, J.K. (2006). Nightmares, Demons, and Slaves: Exploring the Painful Metaphors of Workplace Bullying. Management Communication Quarterly, 20, 148 – 185.
  88. U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey. Website Bullying Institute. Updated September 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2007 from http://bullyinginstitute.org/zogby2007/wbi-zogby2007.html
  89. Vartia, M. (2001). Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying. Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health, 27, 63-69.
  90. Vega, G., Comer, D.R. (2005). Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can break your spirit: Bullying in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 58(1-3), 101-109.
  91. Vickers, M. H. (2014), Towards reducing the harm: Workplace bullying as workplace corruption-A critical review, Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 26, pp. 95-113 DOI: 10.1007/s10672-013-9231-0
  92. Von Bergen, G.W., Zavaletta, J.A., Soper, B. (2006). Legal Remedies for Workplace Bullying: Grabbing the Bully by the Horns. Employee Relations Law Journal, 32(3), 14 – 40.
  93. Workplace Violence: A report to the nation. February 2001. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (DHHS [NIOSH] Publication No. 99-101). Retrieved June 24, 2005 from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/stresswk.html
  94. Wornham, D. (2003). A descriptive investigation of morality and victimisation at work. Journal of Business Ethics, 45(1).
  95. Yamada, D. (2000 a). The phenomenon of “workplace bullying” and the need for status-blind hostile work environment protection. Georgetown Law Journal, 88(3), 475-536.
  96. Yamada, D. (2000 b). Brainstorming about workplace bullying: Potential litigation approaches for representing abused employees. The Employee Advocate, 16(3), 49-56.
  97. Yamada, D. (2005). Crafting a legislative response to workplace bullying. Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, 8, 476-517.
  98. Yıldız S. ve Eliş Yıldız S. (2009), Bullying ve depresyon arasındaki ilişki: Kars ilindeki sağlık çalışanlarında bir araştırma, İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 8 (15), Bahar, ss. 133-150.
  99. Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  100. Zapf, D. & Einarsen, S. (2003). Individual antecedents of bullying: Victims and perpetrators. In Stale Einarsen, Helge Hoel,
  101. Zapf, D. & Gross, C. (2001). Conflict Escalation and Coping with Workplace Bullying: A Replication and Extension. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 497 – 522.
  102. Zapf, D. (1999), Organizational work group related and personal causes of mobbing/bullying at work, International Journal of Manpower, 20 (1/2), pp. 70-85.
  103. Zapf, D. (1999). Organizational, work group related and personal causes of mobbing/bulling at work. International Journal of Manpower, 20(1/2).
Abstract Views: 3
PDF Views: 83

Advanced Search

News/Events

Indira Institute of ...

Indira Institute of Management, Pune Organizing International Confe...

D. Y. Patil Internat...

D. Y. Patil International University, Akurdi-Pune Organizing Nation...

ISBM College of Engi...

ISBM College of Engineering, Pune Organizing International Conferen...

Periyar Maniammai In...

Department of Commerce Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science &...

Institute of Managem...

Vivekanand Education Society's Institute of Management Studies ...

Institute of Managem...

Deccan Education Society Institute of Management Development and Re...

S.B. Patil Institute...

Pimpri Chinchwad Education Trust's S.B. Patil Institute of Mana...

D. Y. Patil IMCAM, A...

D. Y. Patil Institute of Master of Computer Applications & Managem...

Vignana Jyothi Insti...

Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management International Conference on ...

Department of Commer...

Department of Commerce, Faculty of Commerce & Business, University...

By continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.