Abstract
Workplace bullying is a counterproductive behavior that has captured the attention of researchers in recent years. The extent of reported bullying behavior in US organizations varies however; it is estimated to affect 15% to 50% of workers with projected annual costs of over $40 billion including direct and indirect costs. Workplace bullying poses a serious ethical challenge by sending messages about appropriate conduct within the organization’s culture. In this study, we focus on environmental factors as predictors of self-reported bullying in a public-sector organization. Specifically, the factors of interest are organizational culture, commitment to change, and leader-member exchange (LMX). We also investigate newcomer status and its relationship to reported bullying. Findings demonstrated perceived stability in the organization and higher levels of LMX showed lower levels of workplace bullying. Further, an organizational culture that emphasizes rewards lead to higher levels of bullying and newcomers are subjected to more bullying than longer service workers.
Discussion
This study is notable for its investigation of an important dysfunctional workplace behavior – bullying – and a unique set of variables that have not been extensively studied as predictors of bullying. It set out to investigate four initial hypotheses regarding perceived organizational culture and LMX as antecedents to workplace bullying as well as exploring newcomer hazing within a municipal service operation. The results show support for hypothesized effects of perceptions of organizational culture as stable and emphasizing rewards and reported workplace bullying. A central tenet of a public context is the benefit of stable employment, often marked by union contracts. When employees feel secure in a stable work environment, there is less stress and subsequently less dysfunctional behavior (Spector and Fox 2005). Stability may produce a less chaotic and more harmonious work environment where employees do not feel the need to Bact out^ and bullying should occur less frequently. Further, we predicted – and found – that an emphasis on rewards is characteristic of a highly competitive, performance-based culture that would foster aggressive behavior that could lead to perceived bullying. Within this study, rewards such as raises and promotions could potentially be areas of contention and employees might bully others in an effort to win. In addition, the stable nature of the organizational culture might give those with a propensity to bully the perceived freedom to use bully tactics in an effort to win rewards.
