Bullying in the workplace

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Bullying in the workplace: Recent trends in research and practice#an introduction Dieter Zapf & Ståle Einarsen Published online: 10 Sep 2010.

To cite this article: Dieter Zapf & Ståle Einarsen (2001) Bullying in the workplace: Recent trends in research and practice#an introduction, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10:4, 369-373 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594320143000807

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INTRODUCTION 369 EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2001, 10 (4), 369–373


Bullying in the workplace: Recent trends in research and practice— an introduction Dieter Zapf

Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt, Germany

Ståle Einarsen

Department of Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway Victimization from bullying and non-sexual harassment at work has for a long time been a more or less non-existent issue in organizational research, as well as a taboo in organizational life (Einarsen, 1999; Hoel, Rayner, & Cooper, 1999). Although bully/victim problems among children as well as the sexual harassment facing many women in working life have received substantial interest both by the public and by researchers during the last 30 years, this has not been the case as far as emotional abuse, bullying, and consistent aggressive behaviour among coworkers and between supervisors and subordinates are concerned. However, during the last decade, research into this field has gradually emerged as an important issue (see also Leymann, 1996; Einarsen, 2000; Zapf, 1999; and Keashly, 1998, for reviews). The phenomenon, which includes being exposed to persistent insults or offensive remarks, persistent criticism, personal or even physical abuse, has been labelled “mobbing at work” in some Scandinavian and German-speaking countries (Leymann, 1996) and “bullying at work ” in many English-speaking countries (Liefooghe & Olafsson, 1999). Mobbing or bullying at work occur when someone, persistently over a period of time, is on the receiving end of negative actions from one or several others, in a situation where the one at the receiving end for different reasons may have difficulties defending him- or herself against these actions (Einarsen, 2000). Typically, a victim is constantly

Requests for reprints should be addressed to Prof. D. Zapf, Johann Wolfgang GoetheUniversität, Institut für Psychologie, Mertonstr. 17, 60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Email: [email protected] rt.de © 2001 Psychology Press Ltd http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/pp/1359432X.htm l DOI:10.1080/13594320143000807


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teased, badgered, and insulted, and perceives that he or she has little recourse to retaliate in kind. Bullying may take the form of open verbal or physical attacks on the victim, but may also take the form of more subtle acts, such as excluding or isolating the victim from his or her peer group. Organizational measures such as taking away responsibilities or devaluating one’s work and efforts, social isolation and exclusion, and exposure to teasing, insulting remarks, and ridicule, are the most common negative acts (Einarsen, Raknes, Matthiesen, & Hellesøy, 1994; Leymann, 1996; Zapf, Knorz, & Kulla, 1996). Bullying seems not to be an either–or phenomenon, but a gradually evolving process, often triggered by a work-related conflict (Leymann, 1996). During an escalating conflict a person may acquire a disadvantaged position, and may gradually be the subject of highly aggressive behaviour by colleagues or shopfloor management. These aggressive behaviours may be quite a number of different activities, used with the aim or at least the effect of persistently humiliating , intimidating, frightening or punishing the victim. Because bullying is mostly a gradually evolving process, it is, in a sense, arbitrary when and when not to speak of bullying. Whereas in many countries “bullying” or “mobbing” is used for almost every negative act directed against a specific target, researchers use different criteria speaking of bullying. Some follow the relatively strict criteria suggested by Leymann (1996; duration of bullying at least 6 months, frequency of bullying at least once a week); others speak of “bullying” if the duration is less than 6 months and if bullying acts occur less often than once a week. There is, however, a broad consensus that bullying should be directed against a target, that there is more than a single act, and that the target is or ends up in an inferior position from which it is difficult to defend him- or herself. Much of the research conducted so far has concentrated on the relationship between well-being and health and the exposure to bullying (e.g., Leymann & Gustafsson, 1996; Zapf et al., 1996). So far, a firm conclusion may be drawn from these research findings: Exposure to systematic and long-lasting verbal, non-physical , and non-sexual abusive and aggressive behaviour in the workplace causes a variety of negative health effects in the target. Although single acts of aggression and harassment do occur fairly often in everyday interaction, they seem to be associated with severe health problems when occurring on a regular basis (Einarsen & Raknes, 1997; Leymann, 1996). Research on workplace bullying started in the late 1980s in the Nordic countries (Leymann, 1990; Matthiesen, Raknes, & Røkkum, 1989) and spread to other European countries by the mid-1990s. In 1996 a special issue of the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology published altogether eight articles by researchers from six European countries (Leymann & Zapf, 1996). These papers were originally presented at a symposium on bullying at work held at the Seventh European Congress on Work and Organizational Psychology in the town of Györ in Hungary in 1995. This symposium was the first of a series of subsequent European symposia to be held at this biannual


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congress, in Verona in 1997, in Helsinki in 1999, and in Prague in 2001. At these symposia an ever-growing group of European researchers met to present and discuss their work. Furthermore, these symposia seemed to draw a growing number of interested participants to attend the symposia. Hence, the European Congresses on Work and Organizational Psychology have become a major force in the sharing, the promotion, and the encouragement of research in this field. It is therefore only natural that the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology once again presents a special issue to document the recent trends in empirical research in the field of bullying at work throughout Europe. The issue is based on free submissions of papers and an ordinary peer review process. Needless to say we received a host of interesting studies from many European countries. The papers presented in this special issue give, in our opinion, a state of the art picture of the research on bullying that goes on in Europe today. Many of the papers collected in this special issue were presented at one of the European symposia. The papers of this issue, although all empirical in nature, focus on a wide range of issues and employ both quantitative and qualitative methods. The objective when conducting research on potential organizational problems, such as bullying at work, must be to contribute to the prevention and constructive management of these problems. In addition we would aim to contribute to the healing of possible individual and organizational wounds resulting from these potential problems. However, to successfully accomplish these objectives, different kinds of information have to be provided (Einarsen, 2000). First, we must provide descriptive information on the phenomenon itself, both from a conceptual and an empirical point of view. Second, information on the causes and consequences of the problem is needed, again both from a theoretical and an empirical angle. The implementation of effective interventions must be based on a fair description of the problem as well as the development of theoretical and empirically sound models of the causes and effects involved. The third kind of information needed concerns the actions that may be taken to resolve or prevent the problem, be it on an individual or organizational level. Not all possible causes of bullying and harassment at work may easily be altered. Information is therefore needed regarding possible intervention and action steps and the cost– benefit of the different strategies. In this respect the coping and conflict management of both victims and organizations must also be focused upon. We are proud to say that the articles presented in this special issue relate to all three levels of research, although the first two levels of research are naturally the main focus of most articles. The thorough documentation of the frequency, risk groups, the behaviours involved, as well as the effects and causes of bullying at work, is still the main priority of many researchers. Descriptive and exploratory studies, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, have, during the last few years, been conducted within a vast array of organizations and occupational groups.


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Researchers from Denmark, Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, and the UK have contributed to this special issue. The first article questions the definition and the description of the concept of bullying used in most studies so far, namely that bullying is an interpersonal phenomenon. Using qualitative data from an UK organization, Liefooghe and Mackenzie Davey show that many employees also use the term bullying to describe humiliating and demeaning organizational practices. Hence, they argue that the concept of bullying at work as well as research should be expanded to include how organizations treat people, and they suggest the introduction of organizational bullying to address this phenomenon. Although the Nordic countries have pioneered the research on bullying, this has not been the case for Denmark, where research on bullying has only recently started. Mikkelsen and Einarsen present the first data on the prevalence and the health correlates of bullying in Denmark. The authors also address the potential influence of national, cultural, and organizational settings on the frequency of bullying at work. In addition, they compare different methods for measuring the frequency of exposure to bullying at work. Hubert and van Veldhoven present data on the exposure to different kinds of bullying behaviour in the Netherlands using data from a large representative sample of Dutch organizations. This article also addresses the issue of whether or not some organizational settings pose a higher risk for bullying than others. Methodological issues relating to the measurement of bullying at work are also addressed by Salin in her article on exposure to bullying among Swedishspeaking professionals in Finland. This article also focuses on bullying among highly competent employees and employees in a managerial and leadership position. Differences in exposure to bullying between men and women, between different organizational status groups, and between different organizational levels are addressed by Hoel, Cooper, and Faragher using a large-scale sample from the UK. All these four highly different and very interesting studies can be classified as first-level research. Such research efforts are necessary and highly important contributions in future theory developments both as far as the causes and consequences of bullying are concerned as well as in the development of prevention and intervention programmes. An example of second-level research efforts are found in the study of Matthiesen and Einarsen on personality characteristics among victims of bullying at work. Using the MMPI-2, which is a comprehensive measurement of psychiatric illness and personality disorders, they address one of the more controversial issues in this field of research, namely the issue of victim personality. An example of third-level research is presented by Hogh and Dofradottir in a study on coping strategies among victims of bullying. The authors present data from a representative Danish sample. Finally, Zapf and Gross in their article focus on workplace bullying from the conflict and conflict management


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perspective. They describe bullying as an escalated conflict and analyse conflict management strategies of victims and non-victims, and of victims whose situation worsened over time and those whose situation substantially improved. The articles of this special issue make data on bullying available from countries where research on bullying has only recently started. Moreover, it contains papers that address specific topics such as bullying and gender, organizational status, personality, and conflict management. We therefore believe that it documents the most recent trends of bullying research in Europe, and we hope that it will disseminate the knowledge on workplace bullying and will further stimulate research on this important issue.

REFERENCES

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