Joel H. Neuman

Workplace Violence and Workplace Aggression: Evidence Concerning Specific Forms, Potential Causes, and Preferred Targets

Contrary to the impression generated by an increasing number of news reports in the past several years, the occurrence of workplace violencemextreme acts of aggression involving direct physical assault represents a relatively rare event in work settings. However, workplace aggression--efforts by individuals to harm others with whom they work or have worked---are much more prevalent and may prove extremely damaging to individuals and organizations. This paper presents empirical evidence on the varied forms of workplace aggression and their relative frequency of occurrence in work settings. We offer a theoretical framework for understanding this phenomenon---one based on contemporary theories of human aggression----and demonstrate how principles associated with this framework may be applied to the management and prevention of all forms of aggression in workplaces.

The psychological contract and individual differences: The role of exchange and creditor ideologies ☆

Abstract The present study examines exchange and creditor ideologies (two dispositional characteristics that are strongly related to exchange relationships) and their moderating effects on the psychological contract. Five hundred public-sector employees were studied over a 3-year period. Respondents’ were surveyed as to their perceptions of what they believed their employer owed them (e.g., job security, training, involvement in decision making, etc.) and the extent to which these “employer obligations” had been met. In addition, we assessed respondents’ perceptions of their own obligations to their employer (e.g., agreeing to work extra hours, volunteering for non-job-related activities, working unpaid hours, etc.) and the extent to which they believed that these “employee obligations” had been fulfilled. The results indicate that creditor ideology related positively to employee perceptions of their obligations to the employer and the extent to which they fulfilled those obligations while exchange ideology related negatively to employee obligations and fulfillment of obligations. Exchange ideology moderated the effects of perceived employer obligations on employee obligations and fulfillment of obligations while creditor ideology moderated the relationship between perceived employer fulfillment of obligations and employee obligations. This article provides preliminary evidence to the benefits of examining the role of individual dispositions in psychological contract research—a previously neglected topic—and discusses the potential implications for the practice of management.

Effects of high-involvement work systems on employee satisfaction and service costs in veterans healthcare.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Two strong imperatives for healthcare managers are reducing costs of service and attracting and retaining highly dedicated and competent patient care and support employees. Is there a trade‐off or are there organizational practices that can further both objectives at the same time? High‐involvement work systems (HIWS) represent a holistic work design that includes interrelated core features such as involvement, empowerment, development, trust, openness, teamwork, and performance‐based rewards. HIWS have been linked to higher productivity, quality, employee and customer satisfaction, and market and financial performance in Fortune 1000 firms. Apparently, few prior studies have looked at the impacts of this holistic design within the healthcare sector. This research found that HIWS were associated with both greater employee satisfaction and lower patient service costs in 146 Veterans Health Administration centers, indicating that such practices pay off in both humanistic and financial terms. This suggests that managers implementing HIWS will incur real expenses that are likely to be more than offset by more satisfied employees, less organizational turmoil, and lower service delivery costs, which, in this study, amounted to over

Faculty Experiences with Bullying in Higher Education: Causes, Consequences, and Management

1.2 million in savings for an average VHA facility.

Managing burnout and moving toward employee engagement: Reinvigorating the study of stress at work

Although much research has been done on workplace aggression and bullying over the past two decades, academics have paid relatively little attention to bullying in their own institutions. In this article, we discuss what is currently known about bullying in academia, with a particular focus on faculty behavior, and apply empirical and conceptual findings from research on aggression and bullying in other work settings and the significant literature on conflict management in higher education. We begin by describing the nature and prevalence of aggression and bullying in higher education. Drawing on well-established findings from interpersonal aggression research, we discuss several important social, situational, and contextual antecedents to aggression (including academic culture, climate, values, and work practices) and demonstrate how these may serve as causes and consequences of bullying. Embedded in this discussion, we offer a number of specific propositions for future research. We conclude with a discussion of possible actions for prevention and management of bullying in higher educational settings.

Lessons Learned From a 5-Year Project Within the Department of Veterans Affairs Applying Theories of Interpersonal Aggression and Organizational Justice to the Development and Maintenance of Collaborative Social Space

This volume provides an in-depth consideration of destructive communication in organizations -- including workplace bullying, racism, stress, and harassment. It brings together communication scholars from theoretical and applied perspectives to assess current understandings, explore ways to integrate theory and practice, identify areas for change, and outline a research agenda for the coming decade. Each chapter examines a specific aspect of destructive organizational communication, reviews existing theory and research about that communicative form or ideology, suggests fruitful possibilities for application, and suggests key areas for further study. As such, the book opens a dialogue among communication scholars that explores destructive communication in organizations and addresses the following key components: * the central issues and concerns regarding destructive organizational communication, * current scholarly contributions to both applied and theoretical understanding of these issues, * approaches to integrate applied/experienced and theoretical/conceptual perspectives in ways that inform one another and improve organizational considerations for varied stakeholders, and * suggestions for a future research agenda for those interested in ameliorating the destructive side of organizational communication. Overall, the collection provides a basic understanding of the different types of destructive communication in organizations, the processes through which these interactions occur, the consequences to individuals and organizations, and the potential for organizing in more constructive, civil ways. This volume will be an excellent resource for scholars and researcher studying organizational communication, and graduate and advanced undergraduate students in organizational communication. It will also resonate with managers dealing with hostile workplaces, and organizational members trying to understand their current experiences. The book will serve as an excellent textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in organizational communication.

Aggression at the service delivery interface: Do you see what I see?

Although much has been written about the importance of generative learning to organizational effectiveness, less is known about the creation and maintenance of the “social space” necessary to foster such learning. This article describes how, as an exercise in sensemaking the authors conceptualized their experience in the establishment and preservation of such space within a 5-year action research project at the United States Department of Veteran Affairs and how theories of interpersonal aggression and organizational justice inform development of this kind of space. To this end, the authors discuss each stage of this process, which was experienced as (a) enrollment (identification of focal issues/needs, enabling conditions, social networks), (b) negotiations leading to peripheral understanding among participants (confronting tensions about methods, data, norms, roles, power, control), (c) the threshold (a “fuzzy boundary” separating collaborative from conventional social space), and (d) the emergence of collaborative social space.

Workplace Violence and Aggression: When You Do Not Want Your Company on the News

Aggression at the service delivery interface (the point of contact between service provider and service recipient) has become a focus of much recent research attention. However, much of what we know is based on cross-sectional survey data – which tells us little about the underlying dynamics within specific aggressive incidents. Further, these data are often collected from the perspective of the service provider alone. For this study, we focused on specific hostile interactions during the delivery of healthcare services and gathered data from the perspectives of service providers and service recipients. Drawing on interviews with US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staff and US military veterans, we categorised and compared each partys attributions for the initiation of hostile (unpleasant) encounters. We found that staff and veterans had different perspectives on the nature of precipitating factors and that the initial attribution for the event was linked to differences in subsequent responding. These findings are discussed in terms of their insight into the temporal dynamics of aggressive events and their implications for the prevention and management of hostility at the service delivery interface.

Means, Motive, Opportunity, and Aggressive Workplace Behavior

This chapter provides a history and overview of workplace violence and aggression research and a detailed description of the nature and prevalence of this phenomenon. This includes a discussion of both physical (fatal and nonfatal) and nonphysical (verbal, psychological, emotional) forms of aggression as well as a discussion about the substantial individual and organizational costs (both human and financial) associated with aggressive workplace behavior. In addition, I describe the individual, social, and situational causes of workplace aggression and violence and offer several approaches for the prevention and management of this problem. Embedded in this discussion, I raise several ethical concerns that must be addressed in dealing with these issues.

Psychological Factors Influencing Response Preferences Using Speech Technology as an “On-Line Interviewer”

Part 1. Introduction. M.S. Edwards, J. Greenberg, What is Insidious Workplace Behavior? Part 2. Forms of Insidious Workplace Behavior. J.H. Neuman, L. Keashly, Means, Motive Opportunity and Aggressive Workplace Behavior. M.A. Seabright, M.L. Ambrose, M. Schminke, Two Images of Workplace Sabotage. D.A. Jones, Getting Even for Interpersonal Mistreatment in the Workplace: Triggers of Revenge Motives and Behavior. C.M. Pearson, Research on Workplace Incivility and its Connection to Practice. C. Fitzgerald Boxer, T.E. Ford, Sexist Humor in the Workplace: A Case of Subtle Harassment. S.L. Glover, Lying to Bosses, Subordinates, Peers and the Outside World: Motivations and Consequences. Part 3. Methodological Issues. S.M. Jex, J.L. Burnfield Geimer, O. Clark, A.M. Guidroz, J.E. Yugo, Challenges and Recommendations in the Measurement of Workplace Incivility. P.E. Spector, O.B. Rodopman, Methodological Issues in Studying Insidious Workplace Behavior. Part 4. Integration. M.S. Edwards, J. Greenberg, Issues and Challenges in Studying Insidious Workplace Behavior.