Aspa Sarris

Bullying Allegations from the Accused Bully's Perspective

Research on workplace bullying to date has relied predominantly on self‐reports from targets and bystanders, largely ignoring the contributions of other stakeholders such as the alleged perpetrator. This study aims to close this gap by focusing on the perspectives of the alleged perpetrator and examining the background of the bullying allegations, the types of behaviours labelled as bullying and the perpetrators justification of their behaviours. Twenty‐four managers who were accused of workplace bullying were interviewed for this study, and a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts was undertaken. Many participants reported a highly stressful workplace, including ambiguous roles, staff shortages and high levels of conflict, as well as inappropriate social behaviours being carried out by others in addition to themselves. A number of participants viewed themselves as targets of bullying by their staff, and others defended their behaviour as legitimate performance management.

Consequences of being accused of workplace bullying: an exploratory study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceptions of accused bullies in terms of their experiences of fairness in the manner in which the complaint against them was managed, and examine the subsequent health and career ramifications of being accused of workplace bullying.Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory study was carried out through a mixed methodology: 30 managers who had been accused of workplace bullying completed a survey about their experiences, and 24 of these participants were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the interview data was undertaken.Findings – A number of themes emerged from the analysis including negative psychological health outcomes for accused bullies in terms of depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, and suicidal ideation. Other dominant themes were the poor perceptions of justice in the way in which the investigations were carried out, negative career consequences, and exit from the organization, whether the accusations of bullying were substant...

Antarctica: A study of person – culture fit

Abstract This study explored the concept of person – culture fit for men and women working in remote and isolated Australian Antarctic stations. Person – culture fit was assessed in terms of the congruence between perceived Antarctic station values and ideal organisational values. In particular, the study investigated the extent to which congruence between perceived Antarctic station values and ideal organisational values was related to individual attitudes and job outcomes, including, job satisfaction, perceived group cohesion and subjective fit. Participants were 117 men and women who participated in Australian Antarctic expeditions between 1950 and 2000. The results showed that person – culture fit was related to job satisfaction and group cohesion. Person – culture fit and demographic characteristics such as age and gender were also related to subjective fit with Antarctic station culture.

The Use of a Computer-assisted Interview to Administer the Child Behavior Checklist in a Child Psychiatry Service

This study describes the use of a computer-assisted interview to administer the Child Behavior Checklist to the parents of children referred to a child psychiatry service. The scores from the computer-assisted interview varied little from the scores obtained using the standard written checklist. Information collected by means of computer-assisted interviews with parents and children has the potential to facilitate the diagnostic assessment of individual children with emotional and behavioral problems, to provide a more comprehensive description of the work of child psychiatry services, and to encourage new clinical research by mental health professionals working in child psychiatry services.

Personality, Culture Fit, and Job Outcomes on Australian Antarctic Stations

This study compares the personality characteristics of Australian Antarctic expeditioners with a normative population using the Revised Neo Personality Inventory. It examines the relationship between personality and perceived fit with Antarctic station culture. The study also investigates the relationship between personality, individual attitudes, and job outcomes, including job satisfaction and intention to return to the Antarctic. Participants were 117 men and women who participated in Australian Antarctic expeditions between 1950 and 2000. Results show that expeditioners scored lower on neuroticism and higher on openness compared to the normative population. A relationship between personality and perceived fit with Antarctic station culture is found. Results also show a link between personality and job outcomes, including role conflict, job satisfaction, and actual return to the Antarctic.

Behavioral Norms and Expectations on Antarctic Stations

This study examined the organizational culture of Australian Antarctic stations in terms of behavioral norms and expectations. The study also investigated the relationship between perceptions of Antarctic station culture and individual attitudes and job outcomes. Participants were 116 returned Australian Antarctic expeditioners. Results showed that the overall profile of Antarctic station culture reflected a satisfaction-oriented culture, with the majority of participants describing Antarctic stations as open, friendly, and participatory environments. However, results also revealed gender differences in perceptions of Antarctic station norms and expectations. Although men generally described Antarctic station culture as open and team oriented, women described it as rule-oriented, hierarchical, and nonparticipatory. Perceptions of Antarctic station culture were related to individual attitudes, including satisfaction with being a member of the expedition and intention to return to the Antarctic.

Behaviour Problems in Adolescence: A cOmparison of Juvenile Offenders and Adolescents Referred to a Mental Health Service

This study compared the behaviour problems and specific social skill deficits reported by adolescent recidivist offenders and adolescents referred to a mental health service. The results demonstrated sex differences in the types of problems reported by adolescents in the clinic (referred) group. The results also demonstrated few differences between male offenders and males in the clinic group in terms of overall emotional and behavioural problems, general family functioning, specific social skills, and the intensity and control of anger. The results of this study have two implications. One implication is that social skills intervention programs need to address sex differences in the types of problems reported by adolescents attending mental health facilities. A second implication is that the social skills intervention programs are needed for juvenile offenders.

The Effect of Computer-assisted Interviewing on the Clinical Assessment of Children

This study investigated the effect of providing clinicians with a report from a computer-assisted interview conducted prior to the clinical assessment of children referred to a mental health service. The results suggest that the availability of reports from computer-assisted interviews influenced the type of problems identified by clinicians and the services that they recommended to manage the childrens problems. It is suggested that reports from computer-assisted interviews could assist clinicians by collecting a broad range of clinical information describing the problems of clinic-referred children. It is also suggested that considerably more research is needed into the possible benefits of computer technology in child and adolescent mental health services.

The role of student burnout in predicting future burnout: exploring the transition from university to the workplace

ABSTRACT Burnout is a significant problem in the workplace and recent research suggests burnout is also a growing concern for students. This study aimed to explore the transition from study to work, including exploring the impact of student burnout on work burnout. Australian health profession students (T1, n = 86; T2, n = 86; T3, n = 57) from the disciplines of nursing, psychology, occupational therapy and social work were followed from their final year at university into their first two years at work. An online questionnaire which included measures of exhaustion, cynicism, professional efficacy, mental health, neuroticism, study/job demands and resources was administered at three time points, one year apart. Contrary to the hypotheses, burnout was higher in study than work for all dimensions of burnout. Study exhaustion and cynicism predicted work exhaustion and cynicism, respectively. These results demonstrate the importance of early intervention for burnout in university settings, both to decrease student burnout and to prevent future work burnout.

Factors That Influence the Training Transfer and Maintenance of Conflict Resolution Programs of Healthcare Training and Development Units: A Retrospective Study

Conflict resolution skills are important for all healthcare professionals. Conflict and miscommunication can have detrimental effects on decision-making, potentially impacting on patient-care, morbidity and mortality, making upskilling of health professionals’ conflict resolution skills important. However, research suggests only around 10–15% of training knowledge and skills transfers to the workplace, making training a seemingly poor investment. Via a retrospective online survey, this study examined factors associated with the transfer and maintenance of conflict resolution skills of medical officers and healthcare professionals who undertook relevant training. The results of multivariable linear regression analyses showed that 77% of the variance was predicted for training transfer and 42% for training maintenance predominantly by individual (e.g. emotional intelligence and motivation) and organisational transfer climate factors (e.g. support and goal-setting cues). These results have implications for healthcare organisations in regards to how they motivate and support staff before and after training to increase transfer and maintenance of conflict resolution skills.