Eva Gemzøe Mikkelsen

Bullying in Danish work-life: Prevalence and health correlates

Given the pioneering role of Scandinavian research in the field of bullying at work, it is surprising that Danish researchers have largely ignored this problem. Presumably, this has led to a situation where many Danish company managers and unions ignore the high individual and organizational costs of workplace bullying. An additional effect of this lack of research is that it has been difficult to estimate the extent to which the prevalence of bullying varies in different sectors of Danish work-life. Furthermore, the scarcity of research has impeded us from determining whether a low prevalence of bullying is a general characteristic of Scandinavian work-life as indicated by previous Swedish and Norwegian studies. Yet again, making such between-nations comparisons in the prevalence of workplace bullying is difficult given the tendency amongst researchers to employ different ways of measuring bullying. The aims of the present study were: (1) to assess the prevalence of bullying in Danish work-life; (2) to investigate if exposure to bullying behaviours at work is related to self-reported psychological and psychosomatic stress symptoms; (3) to examine potential differences in the prevalence of bullying in various work sectors; (4) to explore the hypothesis that, generally, Scandinavian work-life is characterized by low levels of bullying; and (5) to investigate the extent to which using different criteria for assessing bullying results in disparate prevalence estimates. Results showed that 2-4% of the respondents reported being victims of bullying, in most cases only occasionally. Compared to self-reported bullying, prevalence levels based on an operational definition of bullying (i.e., weekly exposure to one act for at least 6 months) were higher in all the samples, between 8% and 25%. When using a more strict criterion of two acts a week, these figures were significantly reduced. Exposure to bullying was found to be associated with increased self-reported strain reactions.

Relationships between exposure to bullying at work and psychological and psychosomatic health complaints: The role of state negative affectivity and generalized self–efficacy

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between exposure to behaviors identified as workplace bullying and self-report measurements of psychological and psychosomatic health complaints. Secondly, we investigated whether these relationships were mediated by the state negative affectivity of the victim. Thirdly, we investigated the extent to which generalized self-efficacy moderated the relationships between exposure to bullying behaviors and health complaints. Two hundred and twenty-four white- and blue-collar employees from a Danish manufacturing company participated in the study. Exposure to bullying behaviors was associated with an increase in psychological health complaints, increased levels of psychosomatic complaints and an elevated level of state negative affectivity. Whereas bullying by itself accounted for 27% of the variance in psychological health complaints and 10% of the variance in psychosomatic complaints, the results pointed to state negative affectivity as a partial mediator of the relationships between exposure to bullying behaviors and both measures of self-reported health. Though not directly related to reported exposure to bullying behaviors, generalized self-efficacy seemed to act as a moderator of the relationship between exposure to bullying behaviors and psychological health complaints.

Relationships between bullying, psychosocial work environment and individual stress reactions

It is frequently assumed that a poor psychosocial working environment will create conditions that encourage bullying. However, few studies have examined this assumption while comparing work environment ratings of bullied and non-bullied employees who work in the same organization and/or department. The objectives of this study were therefore, first, to investigate relationships between bullying and other psychosocial work environment factors within a particular organizational setting and, second, to investigate if bullied employees reported higher levels of stress than non-bullied employees. A total of 186 blue-collar employees from a Danish manufacturing company participated in the study (response rate of 93%). Results showed significant differences in bullied and non-bullied employees’ ratings of psychosocial factors such as job control, management style, role clarity, social climate, social contact and work centrality. In order to investigate assumptions that a poor psychosocial work environment creates conditions that encourage bullying, a number of analyses compared the companys manufacturing departments with either high, medium or low levels of bullying. Results showed significant departmental differences. Yet, when bullied employees were removed from the statistical analyses, with regard to the perceived psychosocial environment these same departments could be differentiated only on the basis of rated job demands and management style. The results therefore bring into question the assumption that a generally poor work environment contributes to bullying. None the less, they do suggest that management style may directly or indirectly have contributed to a higher level of bullying. Also, bullied employees reported significantly more symptoms of psychological stress and mental fatigue than non-bullied employees.

Exposure to negative acts at work, psychological stress reactions and physiological stress response.

OBJECTIVES The overall aim of the study was to test the association between exposure to negative acts at work, psychological stress-reactions and cortisol secretion and whether some negative acts are more detrimental to health than others. METHODS A questionnaire study included 1010 respondents from 55 workplaces. Three saliva samples collected from the participants at awakening, 30 min later and at 20:00 during a workday were analysed for cortisol concentrations. Negative acts were measured using a modified version of the revised Negative Acts Questionnaire (to measure bullying behaviour). Factor analyses identified four subscales: social isolation, direct harassment, intimidating behaviour and work related acts. Psychological stress-reactions were measured by the Impact of Event Scale (IES) measuring traumatic stress-reactions. RESULTS Having controlled for gender, age, other traumatic incidents and physical violence, multiple regression analyses showed significant linear associations between social isolation and the three IES scales: hyper-arousal, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance behaviour. Work-related negative acts were significantly associated with all three outcome scales though to a lesser degree, whereas direct harassment was only associated with avoidance behaviour. Intimidating acts were significantly associated with hyper-arousal. We found significantly reduced levels of cortisol concentration for exposure to direct harassment and intimidating behaviour. CONCLUSION The results show that some negative acts such as direct harassment and intimidating behaviour are associated with psychological stress-reactions and a negative physiological stress response. Extending previous research this indicates that some negative acts are more detrimental than others in so far as exposure to these acts affects both psychological and physiological health.

Prevention of bullying and conflicts at work

Purpose – This paper aims tp prevent bullying and conflicts at work and to identify process factors associated with the implementation and effects of such interventions.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents process evaluation data from an intervention study in two organizations. A quasi‐experimental, process‐oriented research design was used. The following interventions were implemented: lectures on bullying, courses in conflict prevention and management, dialogue meetings, the distribution of pamphlets, newsletters and posters as well as steering group meetings.Findings – Results indicate that participants benefited from the interventions, in particular the dialogue meetings and the courses in conflict prevention and management. Moreover, various factors stimulating or obstructing the implementation and effects of interventions were identified.Research limitations/implications – The use of process evaluation to document the phases of the study and relevant process factors is a major strength. ...

Negative Acts at Work as Potential Bullying Behavior and Depression: Examining the Direction of the Association in a 2-Year Follow-Up Study.

Objective: This study investigates the 2-year prospective association between exposure to negative acts at work and depression. Methods: A questionnaire study was carried out among 3363 employees and followed up 2 years later. Negative acts as potential bullying behavior were assessed by the Revised Negative Acts Questionnaire and depression by The Major Depression Inventory or Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry interviews. Logistic regression analyses tested potential associations between depression and negative acts. Results: Exposure to negative acts was associated with depression 2 years later; however, when adjusting for Sense of Coherence and depressive symptoms at baseline the association was no longer significant. Conversely, depression at baseline predicted self-reported exposure to negative acts at follow-up. Conclusions: Depression predicts exposure to negative acts at a 2-year follow-up, whereas negative acts do not predict depression after adjustment for Sense of Coherence and baseline depressive symptoms.

Impact of bullying on workers

Thousands of NYSUT members are expected to model good behavior for students. They are trained to be on the alert to spot bullying against students and help to end the behavior by working with the bully and supporting the victim. How about the bullied worker? In a 2014 study, more than 27 percent of Americans say they have been, or are being, bullied at work. Most say that their employers ignore the problem. The bully can be a supervisor, administrator or coworker. Their bullying behavior is easy to recognize. While a tough, demanding boss who wants to get the best performance out of workers is not a bully, the following behaviors do indicate a bully at work:

The longitudinal effects of organizational change on experienced and enacted bullying behaviour

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the relation between organizational change and enacted or experienced workplace bullying. We find that there is a longitudinal relation between organizational change and bullying behaviour and that this effect varies depending on the type of preceding organizational change (task-related or relational change). Task-related change predicts experienced bullying behaviours and relational change predicts enacted bullying behaviours. Within a relationistic process precipitation framework, we find that among moderators at the organizational level (leadership quality) and individual level (affectivity), only positive affectivity slightly moderates the relation between relational change and enacted bullying behaviours. The findings are relevant for the development of evidence-based strategies for the prevention of workplace bullying during different types of organizational change.

Relationship Between Changes in Workplace Bullying Status and the Reporting of Personality Characteristics

Objective: To examine whether a shift in work-related bullying status, from being non-bullied to being bullied or vice versa, was associated with changes in reporting of personality characteristics. Methods: Data on bullying and personality (neuroticism, extraversion, and sense of coherence) were collected in three waves approximately 2 years apart (N = 4947). Using a within-subjects design, personality change scores that followed altered bullying status were evaluated with one-sample t tests. Sensitivity analyses targeted depressive symptoms. Results: Shifts from non-bullied to frequently bullied were associated with increased neuroticism or decreased sense of coherence manageability scores. Shifts from bullied to non-bullied were associated with decreasing neuroticism and increasing extraversion scores, or increasing sense of coherence meaningfulness and comprehensibility scores. Excluding depressive cases had minor effects. Conclusions: Bullying seems to some extent to affect personality scale scores, which thus seem sensitive to environmental and social circumstances.

Physiological Response as Biomarkers of Adverse Effects of the Psychosocial Work Environment

Throughout medical history, measurement of hormones and other physiological parameters have been used in clinical settings with the purpose of detecting and monitoring progress of disease. During the past three or four decades, however, hormones and other physiological effect markers have been increasingly used in occupational settings for purposes of assessing the effects of psychosocial circumstances and of occupational stress. Accordingly, the focus has partly drifted from detecting and monitoring disease to including the detection and monitoring of precursors of disease and risk factors for poor health in otherwise healthy subjects before medical manifests. Because the majority of the workforce is in good health, differences in hormonal and other physiological parameters are often expected to be less pronounced than the differences that typically render clinical interest. Salivary cortisol has increasingly been used in the study of the responsiveness of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis in occupational stress studies and employed in both field studies and experimental studies (for review see (Chida & Steptoe, 2009)). The reason for the increasing use of salivary cortisol in occupational settings is that it is a simple, non-invasive, harm-free and pain-free measure that allows the longitudinal study of HPA-axis activity without substantial interference with the subject’s normal habits and environment. Since cortisol in saliva is stable for at least two week, it provides the possibility of self-sampling and mailing the samples by post (Garde & Hansen, 2005b). This chapter will use salivary cortisol as an example of a biomarker of adverse effects of work stress.