Lars Glasø

Prevalence of workplace bullying in Norway: Comparisons across time and estimation methods

This study investigates the prevalence of exposure to workplace bullying in a representative sample of 2539 Norwegian employees utilizing different measurement and estimation methods. The prevalence of workplace bullying varied from 2 to 14.3% depending on method of measurement and estimation. Latent class cluster analysis is concluded to give the most reliable estimate (6.8%). Compared to a similar Norwegian study published in 1996, the prevalence of self-reported victimization from bullying is considerably reduced; from 8.6% in the early 1990s to 4.6% in 2005. In the 1996 study, 4.6% labelled themselves as victims of severe bullying, the corresponding number being 2% in 2005.

Emotion regulation in leader–follower relationships

This study investigates the extent to which leaders and followers express, suppress or fake their emotions during interaction, using a sample of 135 leaders and 207 followers. The respondents completed questionnaires on emotion regulation, the relationship quality between leaders and followers (LMX), job satisfaction, and health complaints. The data indicate that negative emotions such as disappointment, uncertainty, and annoyance are typically suppressed, while positive emotions such as enthusiasm, interest, and calmness are typically expressed or faked. The reported level of emotion regulation was higher for leaders than for followers. Suppressing and faking emotions correlated negatively with the LMX and job satisfaction, and positively with health complaints among both groups. Emotion regulation is thus a prominent and complex facet of leader – follower relationships with possible negative effects for both leaders and followers.

Workplace Bullying, Emotions, and Outcomes

This study examines emotional experiences as potential mediators between exposure to workplace bullying and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to leave the organization, respectively. A total of 5,520 respondents participated in the study. Drawing upon affective events theory (AET), the results show that emotions partly mediate these relationships and, hence, support the notion that emotions play a central part in the relationship between bullying and essential occupational outcomes.

Personality Profiles Among Targets and Nontargets of Workplace Bullying

This study investigated personality profiles among targets and nontargets of workplace bullying. Personality was assessed by the NEO-FFI, which measures the main dimensions in accordance with the five-factor model of personality: Neuroticism, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness. A total of 435 health care employees participated in the study, in which 42 targets of bullying were identified. A logistic regression analysis revealed significant differences between targets and nontargets of workplace bullying on just two of the Big Five dimensions, with targets scoring higher on Conscientiousness and lower on Agreeableness. Further, a cluster analysis showed no subclusters in the target sample regarding personality. The authors, therefore, consider the differences to be minimal. Hence, personality patterns do not easily differentiate targets of workplace bullying from nontargets. One-sided explanations of the bullying phenomenon, such as personality, are, therefore, likely to be inappropriate.

The instrumentality of emotion in leader-subordinate relationships

This study investigates emotion work in leader-subordinate relationships. The data were collected through semi-structured, in depth interviews of eight leaders and eight subordinates. All subjects reported suppressing, exaggerating or faking emotions during interactions. The motives for regulating emotions fell into four different categories: obeying emotional display rules; strategic use of emotions with intention of reaching specific goals; consideration of the work environment; and avoiding possible discomfort associated with the expression of inner feelings. The leaders referred to all four categories, while the subordinates explained their emotion work primarily as means of obtaining specific goals. The majority of the subordinates, but only one leader, reported that emotional dissonance negatively influenced job satisfaction, work performance and health, or increased the tendency towards withdrawal behaviour. The study has shown the importance of focusing on both parties involved in this particular relationship. Emotional regulation seems to be a prominent and complex facet of leader–subordinate relationships.

Does trait anger, trait anxiety or organisational position moderate the relationship between exposure to negative acts and self-labelling as a victim of workplace bullying?

This study investigates the relationship between exposure to negative acts at work (NAQ) and self-labelling as a victim of workplace bullying, and whether this relationship is moderated by the targets’ personality (trait anger and trait anxiety) or organisational position (leader vs. follower). A total of 466 employees participated in the study, in which 61 self-labelled victims (13.7%) were identified. The results show that NAQ acts as a strong predictor of self-labelling, a relationship which is not moderated by the personal or situational factors examined. However, both trait anxiety and trait-anger acted as independent predictors of self-labelling. Hence, personality seems to influence the self-labelling process although further research is needed in order to understand this process more thoroughly.

Situational leadership theory: a test from three perspectives

Purpose – Ambiguity surrounding “follower competence and commitment” of Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory (SLT) has rendered validation difficult. The purpose of this paper is to address this difficulty by presenting different perspectives for determining follower development level and applies these perspectives for testing the validity of SLT. Design/methodology/approach – The study population was drawn from 80 supervisors and 357 followers. Financial organizations were chosen because much of the existing research on SLT has so far focussed on service-oriented organizations in education, healthcare, and armed services. Findings – Measuring the degree of agreement between leader rating of follower competence and commitment and follower self-rating was found to be a core issue for determining follower competence and commitment. SLT predictions are more likely to hold when leader rating and follower self-rating are congruent, rather than using leader rating alone, which has been applied i...

Bullying and risk‐perception as health hazards on oil rigs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative impact of workplace bullying and risk perception on the mental health among employees in safety critical organisations. The paper also aims to examine whether self‐esteem moderates the relationship between bullying and risk perception as stressors and mental health as an outcome variable.Design/methodology/approach – Employing a survey design, the variables were assessed in a cross‐sectional sample of 1,017 employees in the Norwegian offshore oil and gas industry.Findings – The results show that workplace bullying is a stronger predictor of mental health problems than is risk perception. Self‐esteem had a buffering effect on the relationship between risk perception and mental health problems, whereas no protective effect of self‐esteem was found with regard to the association between bullying and mental health.Originality/value – The findings have implications for how organisations may promote employee well‐being and health. It is suggeste...

Antecedents and Consequences of Envy

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between individual attributes and envy, and to determine how envy may impact personal response variables in the workplace. To address these issues we apply Vecchio’s theory on antecedents and consequences of envy (1995) as a theoretical framework. The present study relied on a cross-sectional measurement design. A total of 135 leaders and 772 followers employed in business organizations participated. SEM analysis shows that span of supervision serves as an important antecedent of envy, where span of supervision is significantly associated to envy via supportive leadership. Furthermore, envy seems to be indirectly and negatively related to self-esteem via distress and directly related to social loafing. The implications of these findings are discussed, and suggestions for future research are outlined.

Leader-follower dyads through the lens of attachment theory. Attachment style as a predictor of LMX

Scholars argue that Bowlby’s attachment theory serves as a promising framework predicting the quality of leader-follower relationships. However, testing this idea empirically has led to mixed resul...