Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Original Article

Conceptualizations of Workplace Bullying

Gendered Rather Than Gender Neutral?

Published Online:December 02, 2011https://doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000048

Abstract

Two studies were conducted to examine the significance of gender for how employees define workplace bullying and how severe they rate different forms of bullying to be. The first study showed that female employees emphasized emotional abuse and professional discredit more than male employees in their definitions of bullying, while men emphasized abusive working conditions more than women. The second study showed that female employees rated the severity of many types of negative acts as somewhat more severe than men did. These studies question the prevailing assumption that bullying is a gender-neutral phenomenon and instead provide converging support for the notion that perceptions of bullying are gendered. The discussion addresses implications for interventions and HR practice.

References

  • Aguinis, H. , Harden, E. E. (2009). Sample size rules of thumb. Evaluating three common practices. In C. E. Lance, R. J. Vandenberg (Eds.), Statistical and methodological myths and urban legends: Received doctrine, verity, and fable in the organizational and social sciences (pp. 267–286). New York, NY: Routledge. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Artazcoz, L. , Borrell, C. , Cortés, I. , Escribá-Aguir, V. , Cascant, L. (2007). Occupational epidemiology and work related inequalities in health: A gender perspective for two complementary approaches to work and health research. Journal of Epidemiological Community Health, 61, 39–45. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Balducci, C. , Spagnoli, P. , Alfano, V. , Barattucci, M. , Notelaers, G. , Fraccaroli, F. (2010). Valutare il rischio mobbing nelle organizzazioni. Contributo alla validazione italiana dello Short Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) [Assessing the mobbing risk in organizations: Contribution to the Italian validation of the Short Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ)]. Psicologia Sociale, 1, 141–161. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Barling, J. , Dupré, K. E. , Kelloway, E. K. (2009). Predicting workplace aggression and violence. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 671–692. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Berdahl, J. L. (2007). Harassment based on sex: Protecting social status in the context of gender hierarchy. Academy of Management Review, 32, 641–658. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Berdahl, J. L. , Moore, C. (2006). Workplace harassment: Double jeopardy for minority women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 426–436. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Björkqvist, K. , Österman, K. , Lagerspetz, K. (1994). Sex differences in covert aggression among adults. Aggressive Behavior, 20, 27–33. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Carli, L. (1999). Gender, interpersonal power, and social influence. Journal of Social Issues, 55, 81–99. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155–159. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Cortina, J. M. , Landis, R. S. (2009). When small effect sizes tell a big story, and when large effect sizes don’t. In C. E. Lance, R. J. Vandenberg (Eds.), Statistical and methodological myths and urban legends: Received doctrine, verity, and fable in the organizational and social sciences (pp. 287–308). New York, NY: Routledge. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Cortina, L. M. , Magley, V. (2009). Patterns and profiles of response to incivility in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 14, 272–288. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Crothers, L. M. , Lipinski, J. , Minutolo, M. C. (2009). Cliques, rumors, and gossip by the water cooler: Female bullying in the workplace. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 12, 97–110. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Einarsen, S. , Hoel, H. , Notelaers, G. (2009). Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: Validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. Work & Stress, 23, 24–44. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Einarsen, S. , Hoel, H. , Zapf, D. , Cooper, C. L. (2011). Workplace bullying: Developments in theory, research and practice. London, UK and New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Ely, R. , Padavic, I. (2007). A feminist analysis of organizational research on sex differences. Academy of Management Review, 32, 1121–1143. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Escartín, J. , Rodríguez-Carballeira, A. , Gómez-Benito, J. , Zapf, D. (2010). Development and validation of the workplace bullying scale “EAPA-T”. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 10, 519–539. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Escartín, J. , Rodríguez-Carballeira, A. , Zapf, D. , Porrúa, C. , Martín-Peña, J. (2009). Perceived severity of various bullying behaviours at work and the relevance of exposure to bullying. Work & Stress, 23, 191–205. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Escartín, J. , Zapf, D. , Arrieta, C. , & Rodríguez-Carballeira, A. (2011). Workers’ perception of workplace bullying: A cross-cultural study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20, 178–205. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hausmann, R. , Tyson, L. , Zahidi, S. (2010). The global gender gap report. Geneva, Switzerland: World Economic Forum. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Høgh, A. , Mikkelsen, E. G. , Hansen, A. M. (2011). Individual consequences of workplace bullying/mobbing. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Workplace bullying: Developments in theory, research and practice (pp. 107–128). London, UK and New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Hutchinson, J. , Eveline, J. (2010). Workplace bullying policy in the Australian public sector: Why has gender been ignored?. Australian Journal of Public Administration, 69, 47–60. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • INE . (2010). Indicadores demográficos básicos. Retrieved from www.ine.es First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • INE Costa Rica . (2010). Centro Centroamericano de Población. Estimaciones y proyecciones de población 1950–2050. Retrieved from www.inec.go.cr. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Ireland, J. (2006). Bullying among mentally-ill patients detained in a high-secure hospital: An exploratory study of the perceptions of staff and patients into how bullying is defined. Aggressive Behavior, 32, 451–463. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Jones, C. (2006). Drawing boundaries: Exploring the relationship between sexual harassment, gender and bullying. Women’s Studies International Forum, 29, 147–158. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lapierre, L. M. , Spector, P. E. , Leck, J. D. (2005). Sexual versus nonsexual workplace aggression and victims’s overall job satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10, 155–169. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lee, D. (2002). Gendered workplace bullying in the restructured UK Civil Service. Personnel Review, 31, 205–227. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lewis, D. (2001). Perceptions of bullying in organizations. International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2, 48–63. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lewis, S. (2006). Recognition of workplace bullying: A qualitative study of women targets in the public sector. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 16, 119–135. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Lewis, S. , Orford, J. (2005). Women’s experiences of workplace bullying: Changes in social relationships. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 15, 29–47. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • MacIntosh, J. , O’Donnell, S. , Wuest, J. , Merritt-Gray, M. (2011). How workplace bullying changes how women promote their health. International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 4, 48–86. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Magley, V. J. , Gallus, J. A. , Bunk, J. A. (2010). The gendered nature of workplace mistreatment. Chrisler, J. C. , McCreary, D. R. , Handbook of gender research in psychology, 5, 423–441. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Montgomery, K. , Kane, K. , Vance, C. M. (2004). Accounting for differences in norms of respect: A study of assessments of incivility through the lenses of race and gender. Group & Organization Management, 29, 248–268. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Nielsen, M. B. , Notelaers, G. , Einarsen, S. (2011). Measuring exposure to workplace bullying. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Workplace bullying: Developments in theory, research and practice (pp. 149–174). London, UK and New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Notelaers, G. , Vermunt, J. K. , Baillien, E. , Einarsen, S. , DeWitte, H. (2011). Exploring risk groups and risk factors for workplace bullying. Industrial Health, 49, 73–88. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • O’Connell, P. J. , Calvert, E. , Watson, D. (2007). Bullying in the workplace: Survey Reports 2007. Reports to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin, Ireland. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Ólafsson, R. , Jóhannsdóttir, H. (2004). Coping with bullying in the workplace: The effect of gender, age and type of bullying. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 32, 319–333. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Podsakoff, P. M. , Mackenzie, S. B. , Lee, J. , Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Richardson, D. , Hammock, G. S. (2007). Social context of human aggression: Are we paying too much attention to gender?. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 12, 417–426. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rodríguez-Carballeira, A. , Escartín, J. , Visauta, B. , Porrúa, C. , Martín-Peña, J. (2010). Categorization and hierarchy of workplace bullying strategies: A Delphi survey. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 13, 297–308. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rodríguez-Muñoz, A. , Moreno-Jiménez, B. , Sanz-Vergel, A. I. , Garrosa, E. (2010). Posttraumatic symptoms among victims of workplace bullying: Exploring gender differences and shattered assumptions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40, 2616–2635. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rotundo, M. , Nguyen, D. H. , Sackett, P. R. (2001). A meta-analytic review of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 914–922. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Salin, D. (2003). The significance of gender in the prevalence, forms, and perceptions of workplace bullying. Nordiske Organisasjonsstudier, 5, 30–50. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Salin, D. (2009). Organisational responses to workplace harassment: An exploratory study. Personnel Review, 38, 26–44. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Salin, D. (2011). The significance of gender for third parties’ perceptions of negative interpersonal behaviour: Labelling and explaining negative acts. Gender, Work, and Organization, 18, doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2009.00465.x 571–591. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Salin, D. , Hoel, H. (2011). Organisational causes of workplace bullying. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Workplace bullying: Developments in theory, research and practice (pp. 227–243). London, UK: Taylor & Francis. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Simpson, R. , Cohen, C. (2004). Dangerous work: the gendered nature of bullying in the context of higher education. Gender, Work, and Organization, 11, 163–186. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Vie, T. L. , Glasø, L. , Einarsen, S. (2010). 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? Nordic Psychology, 62 (3), 67–79. First citation in articleLink, Google Scholar

  • Weyer, B. (2007). Twenty years later: explaining the persistence of the glass ceiling for women leaders. Women in Management Review, 22, 482–496. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Zapf, D. , Escartín, J. , Einarsen, S. , Hoel, H. , Vartia, M. (2011). Empirical findings on prevalence and risk groups of bullying in the workplace. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Workplace bullying: Developments in theory, research and practice (pp. 75–105). London, UK and New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar