Workplace Bullying in India : Acts, Consequences, and Control

Authors

  •   Rajnish Kumar Misra Professor, Jaypee Business School, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A-10, Sector - 62, Noida - 201 309, Uttar Pradesh
  •   Divya Sharma Research Scholar, Jaypee Business School, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A -10, Sector - 62, Noida - 201 309, Uttar Pradesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2022/v15i1/160063

Keywords:

Workplace Bullying

, Qualitative Research, Individual Performance, Organizational Performance, Suggestions.

JEL Classification Codes

, C91, M12, M10.

Paper Submission Date

, April 15, 2021, Paper Sent Back for Revision, December 20, Paper Acceptance Date, December 31, Paper Published Online, January 15, 2022.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the acts and consequences from the perspective of all actors involved in workplace bullying and to provide suggestions to deal with this threat. A qualitative method was used to gather commentary from public and private sector management teachers as the topic is sensitive, complex, or dilemmatic and focused on describing or understanding the experiences of an individual. A deductive approach to thematic analysis revealed the various acts and consequences from the perspectives of all the parties, that is, perpetrator, victim, bystander, and witness, under one roof that has not been stated in the literature. Furthermore, if organizations follow the suggestions provided in the study to control workplace bullying, that will lead to a better and healthy working environment. The present study contributes to workplace bullying literature by using thematic analysis to explore the acts and consequences of workplace bullying faced by all parties. To strengthen the organization with a better work environment and committed people, this critical issue of bullying should be addressed with utmost priority. If it is addressed early, the treatment becomes easier as prevention is always better than cure.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Rajnish Kumar Misra, Professor, Jaypee Business School, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A-10, Sector - 62, Noida - 201 309, Uttar Pradesh

Rajnish Kumar Misra - is Professor in Human Resource Management at Jaypee Business School, Noida (India) and has more than 18 years of experience in academics with Premier B- schools. He has conducted several training programs for both services and manufacturing companies. Dr. Misra’s research areas comprise of Employer Branding, Behavioral Issues in implementing Web 2.0, Self & Leadership Development, Career Management and his current research interests are in Bullying, Incivility, Employability, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Engagement, Well-being, Passion, Workplace bullying and role of social media in understanding people.

Divya Sharma, Research Scholar, Jaypee Business School, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A -10, Sector - 62, Noida - 201 309, Uttar Pradesh

Divya Sharma is a Doctoral Scholar in Jaypee Business School, JIIT, Noida, India. Current Research Interests include areas like Bullying, incivility. For my research in have indulged in a few qualitative and quantitative methods. The ongoing projects have included studies on workplace bullying in India (Interview data, survey). With a rich and diverse experience of 8 years in academics and corporate, her quest for wisdom makes her better suited for research. 

Downloads

Published

2022-01-20

How to Cite

Misra, R. K., & Sharma, D. (2022). Workplace Bullying in India : Acts, Consequences, and Control. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 15(1), 25–39. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2022/v15i1/160063

Issue

Volume 15, Issue 1, January 2022

Section

Articles
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

Agarwal, S. (2016). Women bullying women (WBW) at workplace: A literature review. Journal of Applied Management- Jidnyasa, 8(1), 57–65.

Baillien, E., Neyens, I., De Witte, H., & De Cuyper, N. (2009). A qualitative study on the development of workplace bullying: Towards a three-way model. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 19(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.977

Bakhshi, A., & Sharma, V. (2019). Big five personality traits and social skills of school bullies and victims. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research, 9(1), 223–227. https://www.ijhsr.org/IJHSR_Vol.9_Issue.1_Jan2019/33.pdf

Baltas, A. (2003). A newly named phenomenon: Harassment at the office. http://www.baltas-baltas.com/makaleler

Bernard, H. R. (2002). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative methods (3rd ed.). AltaMira Press.

Biswas, W., & Chakraborty, D. (2019). Impact of organizational values, compassion, and well-being on industrial disputes: An empirical study. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 12(1), 36–51. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2019/v12i1/141427

Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. Wiley. http://garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics1989/A1989CA26300001.pdf

Cappadocia, M. C., Pepler, D., Cummings, J. G., & Craig, W. (2012). Individual motivations and characteristics associated with bystander intervention during bullying episodes among children and youth. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 27(3), 201–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/0829573512450567

D'Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2015). Ambivalence: Employee responses to depersonalized bullying at work. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 36(1), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X13501001

Djurkovic, N., McCormack, D., & Casimir, G. (2008). Workplace bullying and intention to leave: The moderating effect of perceived organizational support. Human Resource Management Journal, 18(4), 405–422. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.2008.00081.x

Einarsen, S. (2005). The nature, causes and consequences of bullying at work: The Norwegian experience. Perspectives interdisciplinaires sur le travail et la santé, (7–3). https://doi.org/10.4000/pistes.3156

Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D. & Cooper, C. L. (2011). The concept of bullying and harassment at work: The European tradition. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, & C. L. (eds.), Cooper, bullying and harassment in the workplace. Taylor & Francis.

Einarsen, S., & Nielsen, M. B. (2015). Workplace bullying as an antecedent of mental health problems: A five-year prospective and representative study. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 88, 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-014-0944-7

Gardner, S., & Johnson, P. R. (2001). The leaner, meaner workplace: Strategies for handling bullies at work. Employment Relations Today, 28(2), 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1002/ert.1012

Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513

Hodgins, M., MacCurtain, S., & Mannix-McNamara, P. (2020). Power and inaction: Why organizations fail to address workplace bullying. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 13(3), 265–290. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-10-2019-0125

Hurley, J., Hutchinson, M., Bradbury, J., & Browne, G. (2016). Nexus between preventive policy inadequacies, workplace bullying, and mental health: Qualitative findings from the experiences of Australian public sector employees. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 25(1), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12190

Kala, K., Akbar Jan, N., Subramani, A. K., & Banureka, R. (2017). Upshot of occupational stress on work-life balance of employees working in information technology organizations in Chennai. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 10(7), 50–59. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2017/v10i7/116494

Kang, L. S., & Sidhu, H. (2015). Identification of stressors at work: A study of university teachers in India. Global Business Review, 16(2), 303–320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0972150914564421

Kar, B., & Tripathy, A. (2021). Variation in conflict behaviours at departments and levels of management. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 14(1), 25–43. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2021/v14i1/157062

Khairuddin, S. M., Saidun, Z., & Hashim, M. S. (2019). Measuring the effects of work motivation on stress and performance linkages in SME. Asian Academy of Management Journal, 24(2), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.21315/ aamj2019.24.s2.1

Knott, V., Mellington, T., Dollard, M., & Winfield, A. (2009). The experience of workplace bullying by Australian correctional service officers. Journal of Occupational Health and Safety, 25(1), 51–64. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/ielapa.200904181

Leymann, H. (1990). Mobbing and psychological terror at workplaces. Violence and Victims, 5(2), 119–126. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.5.2.119

Lund, E. M., & Ross, S. W. (2016). Bullying perpetration, victimization, and demographic differences in college students: A review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(3), 348–360. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838015620818

Matthiesen, S. B., & Einarsen, S. (2004). Psychiatric distress and symptoms of PTSD among victims of bullying at work. British Journal of Guidance & Counseling, 32(3), 335–356. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069880410001723558

Matthiesen, S. B., & Einarsen, S. (2007). Perpetrators and targets of bullying at work: Role stress and individual differences. Violence and Victims, 22(6), 735–753. https://doi.org/10.1891/088667007782793174

McTernan, W. P., Dollard, M. F., & LaMontagne, A. D. (2013). Depression in the workplace: An economic cost analysis of depression-related productivity loss attributable to job strain and bullying. Work & Stress: An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations, 27(4), 321–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2013.846948

Namie, G. (2007). The challenge of workplace bullying. Employment Relations Today, 34(2), 43–51. https://doi.org?10.1002/ert

Nielsen, M. B., & Einarsen, S. V. (2018). What we know, what we do not know, and what we should and could have known about workplace bullying: An overview of the literature and agenda for future research. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 42, 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.06.007

Rai, R., & Tripathi, S. (2017). Dimensions of occupational stress impacting turnover intentions amongst BPO employees: An empirical study. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 10(10), 53–61. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2017/v10i10/118815

Roscigno, V. J., Lopez, S. H., & Hodson, R. (2009). Supervisory bullying, status inequalities and organizational context. Social Forces, 87(3), 1561–1589. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0178

Salin, D. (2003). Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of enabling, motivating and precipitating structures and processes in the work environment. Human Relations, 56(10), 1213–1232. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267035610003

Samnani, A.- K. (2013). Is this bullying? Understanding target and witness reactions. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(3), 290–305. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683941311321196

Samnani, A.-K., & Singh, P. (2012). 20 years of workplace bullying research: A review of the antecedents and consequences of bullying in the workplace. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(6), 581–589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2012.08.004

Smith, J. A., & Dunworth, F. (2003). Qualitative methods in the study of development. In K. Connolly & J. Valsiner (eds.), The handbook of developmental psychology (pp. 603–621). Sage Publications.

Soni, P., & Bakhru, K. M. (2019). Eudaimonic well-being of management education teachers: Role of big five personality traits using structural equation modeling. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 12(4), 23 – 43. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2019/v12i4/143345

Tuckey, M. R., & Neall, A. M. (2014). Workplace bullying erodes job and personal resources: Between- and within-person perspectives. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(4), 413–424. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037728

Tuckey, M., Li, Y., Neall, A. M., Mattiske, J. D., Chen, P. Y., & Dollard, M. F. (2018). Developing a workplace bullying risk audit tool (Final Project Report). University of Southern Australia, Adelaide.

Vashisht, S., & Vashisht, R. (2020). Student to faculty incivility: Experience of faculty in higher education institutions and its consequences. Prabandhan: Indian Journal of Management, 13(5–7), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.17010/pijom/2020/v13i5-7/153082

Vega, G., & Comer, D. R. (2005). Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can break your spirit: Bullying in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 58, 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-1422-7

Yamada, D., Duffy, M., & Berry, P. A. (2018). Workplace bullying and mobbing: Definitions, terms, and when they matter. In M. Duffy & D. Yamada (eds.), Workplace bullying and mobbing in the United States (pp. 3 – 24). Praeger.