1.BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACEAlan K. Goodboy and Matthew M. Martin

2. Bullying at work means harassing, offending, socially excludingsomeone or negatively affecting someones work tasks. In order forthe label bullying (or mobbing) to be applied to a particularactivity, interaction or process it has to occur repeatedly and regularly(e.g., weekly) and over a period of time (e.g., about six months).Bullying is an escalate process in the course of which the personconfronted ends up in an inferior position and become the target ofsystematic negative social acts(Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf, & Cooper, 2003, p. 15) 3. Another definition of workplace bullyingWorkplace bullying is a toxic combination of unrelentingemotional abuse, social ostracism, interactional terrorizing, andother destructive communication that erode organizational healthand damages employee well-being(Lutgen-Sandvik & Tracy, 2012, p. 5). 4. Questions to consider when classifying behavior as Bullying: Frequency the negative behaviors must happen regularly (e.g., 2 timesa week) Persistence the negative behaviors must take place over time (e.g., sixmonths or more) Escalation do the negative behaviors increase in their intensity Hostility - the negative behaviors must be intentionally targeted to harmthe other individual (physically, mentally, or organizationally) Power Imbalance there is a perceived power differential between theparties above (this does not have to be status in the organization) 5. BULLYING CAN TAKE PLACE IN THE FOLLOWING RELATIONSHIPS: Supervisor-Subordinate Subordinate-SupervisorCustomer/Client-Employee Co-Worker-Co-Worker 6. Neither the Bully or the Target are viewed PositivelyBullies are viewed as narcissistic dictators, two-faced actors, and asdevil figuresTargets are viewed as vulnerablechildren, slaves, prisoners, animals, heartbroken lovers(Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, 2006) 7. Who is more likely to be a bully? Males People with high stress jobs People who have been on the receiving end of bullying People with job insecurity People who have supervisors who are bullies People who work in an culture where bullying is rewarded People who lack interpersonal skills 8. Organizational Level Antecedents of Bullying Leadership and Management Styles (supervisors who are tooauthoritarian could use bullying behaviors while supervisors whoare too passive might not intervene when bullying takes placeunder their watch) Organizational Climate (some organizations tend to be morenegative, competitive, and abusive bullying behaviors arecommon in healthcare and hospitality professions) 9. Organizational Policies (the clearer organizational policies areabout what is considered bullying and the consequences ofbullying, the less likely bullying takes place in the workplace) Organizational Situational Factors (organizationalrestructuring, job insecurity, boring tasks, and high levels ofcompetitiveness have all been linked to an increase in bullyingbehaviors)(Samnani & Singh, 2012) 10. Other explanations for bullying in the workplace :Disagreements people display bullying behaviors in order to winAuthoritative people use bullying behaviors as an abuse of powerDisplaced people bully a target due to overall stress in theworkplaceDiscriminatorypeople bully someone because that person is differentOrganizationalpeople demonstrate bullying behavior because theyare oppressed and exploited(Lutgen-Sandvik, Namie, & Namie, 2009) 11. Negative Acts Questionnaire Revised is a 22-item measure that isfrequently used to look at Workplace Bullying and DestructiveBehaviors in the Workplace.Purposely, none of the items reference bullying or harassment.The NAQ-R covers three types of bullying: work-related, person-related, and physical intimidation. 12. Sample Work-Related Items: Being exposed to an unimaginable workload Someone withholding information which affects your performance Having your opinions ignored Excessive monitoring of your work 13. Sample Person-Related Items: Being humiliated or ridiculed in connection with your work Spreading of gossip and rumours about you Being ignored or excluded Being ignored or facing a hostile reaction when you approach Being the subject of excessive teasing and sarcasm 14. Sample Physically Intimidating items: Being shouted at or being the target of spontaneous anger Intimidating behaviors such as finger-pointing, invasion ofpersonal space, shoving, blocking your way Threats of violence or physical abuse or actual abuse 15. Einarsen, Hoel, & Notelaers (2009) found that all three types ofnegative behaviors, work-related, person-related, and physicallyintimidating were positively related to stress workload and stress withcolleagues and negatively related to organizationalclimate, organizational satisfaction, and organizational commitment. 16. CYBERBULLYINGCyberbullying techniques use modern communication technology tosend derogatory or threatening messages directly to the victim orindirectly to others, to forward personal and confidentialcommunication or images of the victim for others to see, and topublicly post denigrating message(Privitera & Campbell, 2009). 17. Cyberbullying is less common than bullying 50% of people have been cyberbullied at one time; 10% of peoplehave been cyberbullied regularly For children, cyberbullying often substitutes for face-to-facebullying, but in the workplace, cyberbullying mostly coincideswith face-to-face bullying 18. ANTI-BULLYING POLICIES Bullying behaviors need to be specifically identified Policies must be posted and available to all (public) Zero tolerance (rules must be enforced in a timely manner) Need commitment from the top levels of an organization Training about Bullying and it impact 19. Repeat offenders need to face increased consequences No punishment or retribution for filing a charge of bullying Social support for targets Human Resource departments need to not protect bullies who areadvantageous to the organization 20. Bullying is not an individual problemin the workplace; bullying is anorganizational problem.(Lutgen-Sandvik & Tracy, 2011) 21. REFERENCESCowan, R. L. (2012). Its complicated: Defining workplace bullying from the human resourceprofessionals perspective. Management Communication Quarterly, 26, 377-403.Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., & Notelaers, G. (2009). Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment atwork: Validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. Work & Stress, 23, 24-44.Hauge, L. J., Skogstad, A., & Einarsen, S. (2009). Individual and situation predictors of workplacebullying: Why do perpetrators engage in the bullying of others? Work & Stress, 23, 349-358.Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Fletcher, C. V. (2013). Conflict motivations and tactics oftargets, bystanders, and bullies: A thrice-told tale of workplace bullying. In J. G. Oetzel & S.Ting-Toomey (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of conflict communication: Integratingtheory, research, & practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Namie, G., & Namie, R. (2009). Workplace bullying:Causes, consequences, and corrections. In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. D. Sypher (Eds.), Destructiveorganizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways oforganizing (pp. 27-52). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis. 22. Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Tracy, S. J. (2012). Answering five key questions about workplacebullying; How communication scholarship provides thought leadership for transforming abuseat work. Management Communication Quarterly, 26, 3-47.Privitera, C., & Campbell, M. A. (2009). Cyberbullying: The new face of workplace bullying?Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 12, 395-400.Samnani, A., & Singh, P. (2012). 20 years of workplace bullying research: A review of theantecedents and consequences of bullying in the workplace. Aggression and ViolentBehavior, 17, 581-589.Spector, P. E., & Fox, S. (2005). The Stressor-Emotion Model of counterproductive workbehavior. In S. Fox & P. E. Spector (Eds.), Counterproductive behavior: Investigations of actorsand targets (pp. 151-174). Washington, D.C.: APA.Tracy, S. 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