When the Going Gets Tough and the Environment Is Rough: The Role of Departmental Level Hostile Work Climate in the Relationships between Job Stressors and Workplace Bullying.

In line with the work environment hypothesis, the present study investigates whether department-level perceptions of hostile work climate moderate the relationship between psychosocial predictors of workplace bullying (i.e., role conflicts and workload) and exposure to bullying behaviours in the workplace. The data were collected among all employees in a Belgian university and constitutes of 1354 employees across 134 departments. As hypothesized, analyses showed positive main effects of role conflict and workload on exposure to bullying behaviours. In addition, the hypothesized strengthening effect of department-level hostile work climate on the relationship between individual-level job demands and individual exposure to bullying behaviours was significant for role conflict. Specifically, the positive relationship between role conflict and exposure to bullying behaviours was stronger among employees working in departments characterized by a pronounced hostile work climate. In contrast to our predictions, a positive relationship existed between workload and exposure to bullying behaviours, yet only among individuals in departments with low hostile work climate. These findings contribute to the bullying research field by showing that hostile work climate may strengthen the impact of role stress on bullying behaviours, most likely by posing as an additional distal stressor, which may fuel a bullying process. These findings have important theoretical as well as applied implications.

When does exposure to daily negative acts frustrate employees' psychological needs? A within-person approach.

Based on self-determination theory, this two-sample study investigates the effects of negative acts on psychological need frustration in greater depth using a within-person perspective. More specifically, through two distinct diary studies, we aim to contribute to the dearth of research on the daily effects of bullying by investigating the daily relationship between exposure to negative acts and need frustration as well as the moderating role of perceived emotional support at work in this relationship. Overall, results from both studies show that employees experience greater need frustration (perceptions of rejection, oppression, and incompetence) on days they are confronted with negative acts and that daily emotional support buffers the impact of direct negative acts (humiliation, physical intimidation) on frustration of the needs for competence and relatedness at the daily level. As such, the results of the present two-sample study provide a better understanding of the boundary conditions under which exposure to negative acts may result in psychological costs by identifying emotional support as a key resource in the workplace that can offset the immediate harmful effects of certain negative behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The impact of follower leadership position on transformational leadership as moderator of the association between work-related ambiguity and job satisfaction.

This two-part study examined if the buffering effect of transformational leadership on the association between work-related ambiguity and job satisfaction is contingent upon whether a follower holds a formal leadership position him/herself. Data from two separate surveys were employed: Study 1: A sample of 845 respondents from Belgium. Study 2: A national probability sample of 1,608 Norwegian employees. Study 1 showed that task ambiguity had a significant negative relation with job satisfaction, but that transformational leadership did only buffer the association between task ambiguity and job satisfaction among employees holding a formal position as a supervisor or manager. Study 2 extended Study 1 by adjusting for age and job tenure of subordinates as a confounding variable. Study 2 confirmed that transformational leadership had a significantly stronger impact on the observed association between role ambiguity and job satisfaction among respondents holding a supervisor or manager position. In conclusion, when considering job satisfaction as an outcome of work-related ambiguity, transformational leadership is mainly beneficial for followers holding a formal supervisor or manager position themselves. Our findings thereby question assumptions about the general effectiveness of transformational leadership.

High-Performance Work Practices and Interpersonal Relationships: Laissez-Faire Leadership as a Risk Factor.

Although high-performance work practices (HPWPs) have been shown to increase organizational performance and improve employee attitudes, it still remains unclear how they impact interpersonal relations in the workplace. While some argue that HPWPs lead to better interpersonal relations, others fear that HPWPs may increase competition and uncivil and abusive behaviors. In response to this, our aim is to examine whether and when HPWPs are associated with increased levels of competition and thereby more incivility. Given recent interest in how HR practices and leadership may interact to produce certain outcomes, we study laissez-faire leadership as a possible moderator. A survey was conducted in Belgium (n = 374), and a mediated moderation analysis using SEM performed using Mplus. The results suggest that in the absence of laissez-faire leadership, HPWPs are associated with less incivility, thus suggesting better interpersonal relations. However, the results also show that HPWPs may lead to increased competition and thereby somewhat more incivility, under conditions of laissez-faire leadership. The results thus point to the importance of studying interactions between HR practices and leadership in trying to understand employee outcomes. In terms of practical implications, the results suggest that investing in HPWPs may reduce incivility and thereby improve relationship wellbeing. However, HPWPs need to be combined with active leadership to avoid undesirable negative consequences.

High Performance Work Systems, Justice, and Engagement: Does Bullying Throw a Spanner in the Works?

High performance work systems (HPWS) have typically been shown to positively influence employee attitudes and well-being. Research in the realm of HPWS has, in this respect, established a clear connection between these systems and employee engagement through organizational justice. In this study, we analyzed if being bullied affects this relationship. Using reasoning from Affective Events Theory (AET), we expected that the positive association between HPWS and engagement through perceptions of organizational justice is impaired by experiences of workplace bullying. Moreover, we expected a remaining direct effect between HPWS and engagement, also attenuated by bullying. Our results in a sample of service workers in Finland (n = 434) could not support the moderating role of bullying in the indirect effect. Workplace bullying did, however, impair the remaining direct relationship indicating it disrupts the positive effect of HPWS on engagement. In all, whereas HPWS were found to be beneficial for not bullied respondents, it was associated with decreased engagement for the bullied. Our findings further underscore the importance of preventing bullying in our workplaces, as it may significantly alter the outcomes of positively intended HR practices into an undesired result.

Does bystander behavior make a difference? How passive and active bystanders in the group moderate the effects of bullying exposure.

Workplace bullying has negative effects on targets' well-being. Researchers are increasingly aware that bullying occurs within social contexts and is often witnessed by others in the organization, such as bystanders. However, we know little about how bystanders' responses influence outcomes for those exposed to bullying. In this multilevel study, involving 572 employees within 55 work groups, we explore how bystanders' passive (e.g., inaction) and active constructive (e.g., defending the target) responses to bullying can affect targets' somatic symptoms and work engagement. Drawing from Job-Demands Resource theory, we propose that passive and active constructive bystanders can worsen or buffer bullying's effects on these well-being outcomes, respectively. Specifically, we propose that passive bystanders can act as further demands for targets to cope with, leading to demand accumulation, while active constructive bystanders can act as resources. We found that exposure to workplace bullying was associated with somatic symptoms and low work engagement. The number of passive and active constructive bystanders in the target's work group moderated the relationship between exposure to bullying and engagement. In particular, with larger numbers of passive bystanders, the negative relationship of bullying exposure with engagement strengthened. Conversely, with a higher number of active constructive bystanders, bullying's negative relationship with engagement was mitigated. However, there was no moderating effect for somatic symptoms. This study contributes as the first empirical test of whether bystander behavior shapes the consequences of bullying for targets and provides a novel, group-level perspective to the bullying bystander literature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Putting workplace bullying in context: The role of high-involvement work practices in the relationship between job demands, job resources, and bullying exposure.

Previous research has demonstrated the crucial association between employee stressors and workplace bullying. In this article, we argue that a nurturing organizational context will protect employees from exposure to workplace bullying and will interact with individual demands and resources known to have effect on exposure to bullying in the workplace. In specific, we look at high-involvement work practices (HIWPs)-which include participation, information-sharing, competence development, and rewards. Multilevel analyses on the data from 28,923 Belgian employees from 144 organizations show that organization-level HIWPs are negatively associated with bullying exposure. Moreover, HIWPs interact with individually experienced job demands and resources, by decreasing the association between employee work pressure and bullying and by somewhat compensating for the lack of experienced social support from colleagues at work. HIWPs did not moderate the relationship between employee job insecurity and bullying and social support from the supervisor and bullying. These findings highlight the important role HIWPs can play in protecting employees from workplace bullying, while also suggesting the difficulty of compensating for certain individual risk factors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Perceptions of Customer Incivility, Job Satisfaction, Supervisor Support, and Participative Climate: A Multi-Level Approach.

Perceived customer incivility can be a significant day-to-day demand that affects frontline service employees' job satisfaction. The current research focuses on job resources on multiple levels that serve as buffers in the face of this demand. We tested a multi-level model in which supervisor support (at the employee level) and participative climate (at the work-unit level) moderate the negative relationship between perceived customer incivility and job satisfaction. We used multi-level analysis with self-reported cross-sectional data collected from 934 employees nested in 107 work units of a large clothing shop chain in Belgium. The results showed that both supervisor support and participative climate moderate the negative relationship between perceived customer incivility and job satisfaction. The theoretical contribution of this study resides in an extension of the JD-R theory to simultaneously conceptualize resources on multiple levels. In the meantime, we focus on practical, hands-on resources that organizations can implement to protect service employees from the adverse effects of perceived customer incivility.

The influence of target personality in the development of workplace bullying.

The Victim Precipitation Theory states that people may exhibit certain characteristics or behaviors that may act as vulnerability factors for either being picked as a target or for provoking others, hence contributing to escalate an underlying conflict and then increase the risk of victimization from others. In line with this, previous research indicates that certain target personality characteristics may be risk factors for exposure to workplace bullying, particularly so trait-anxiety and trait-anger. The evidence is, however, mainly cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies are needed. In addition, previous research studied exposure to bullying behaviors rather than the development of workplace bullying. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of personality in the development of workplace bullying, by looking at latent transitions across latent states of bullying exposure as a function of target trait-anxiety and target trait-anger. Data were collected in 2015-2016 among Romanian workers, at eight different measurement points over 6 months. Altogether, 300 respondents were included. Data were analyzed using a three-step latent Markov model. In the first step the statistical optimal number of latent classes or states were estimated, being "Not bullied," "Limited negative encounters," "Occasionally bullied," and "Severely bullied". In the second step, we modeled a latent class Markov model. In the third step, we added personality traits to the Markov chain and found that employees with trait-anxiety and trait-anger reported higher levels of bullying exposure at baseline, as hypothesized. Moreover, these personality traits were related to the subsequent development of bullying over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Aggression and Psychological Distress in Male and Female Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Users: A Multigroup Latent Class Analysis.

The relationship between anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and aggression and psychological distress requires further elucidation. No previous study has examined whether the latent patterns of aggression and psychological distress are the same in male and female AAS users. Multigroup latent class analysis (MLCA) can be used to classify individuals into groups based on their responses on a set of variables, and to investigate measurement invariance across subgroups. We therefore conducted a MLCA to identify discrete subgroups of aggression and psychological distress in AAS users, and used measurement invariance to examine whether the identified subgroups can be applied to both sexes. We also examined the relationship between sex and subgroup belongingness. The sample comprised 206 AAS users (females = 58.30%) aged 14-56 (mean = 26.86, SD = 7.12) years. They completed questionnaires assessing demographics, AAS use, aggression, and psychological distress. Based on the MLCA, five subgroups were identified: high aggression moderate distress users (HAMoD: 07.63%), moderate aggression distress users (18.64%), moderate direct aggression-mild indirect aggression moderate distress users (22.95%), mild direct aggression-moderate indirect aggression-distress users (11.71%), and low aggression mild distress users (LAMiD: 39.06%). Although a homogenous five-class solution was the best model for both sexes, sex was significantly associated with the probability of subgroup membership. In particular, members of the HAMoD subgroup were more likely to be male whereas members of the LAMiD subgroup were more likely to be female. Our study provides novel empirical evidence of the idiosyncratic patterns of aggression and psychological distress among male and female AAS users.

The Importance of Intra-Organizational Networking for Younger Versus Older Workers: Examining a Multi-Group Mediation Model of Individual Task Performance Enhancement.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of intra-organizational networking on individual task performance, via employability. Moreover, this study also examines whether this relationship differs for younger (<40 years) versus older employees (≥40 years). A self-report questionnaire was distributed among a sample of employees working in a range of different types of organizations (n = 374). We conclude that employability fully mediates the relationship between intra-organizational networking and individual task performance. However, this mediation effect did not vary between younger and older employees. This study extends past research by applying a human capital perspective (in particular, social capital) and life-span development frameworks for explaining employability and task performance enhancement across one's working life. It provides useful insights for stimulating career development and individual performance growth, by means of social capital, herewith increasing the individual employee's chance to survive in nowadays' labor markets.

Cutoff scores for workplace bullying: The Spanish Short-Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ).

BACKGROUND: Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor at work. However, in the Spanish context, there is a lack of measures that allow researchers and practitioners to distinguish between non-targets and targets of workplace bullying. METHOD: This study reports the psychometric properties, factor structure, and cutoff scores for the Short-Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) in a Spanish sample (N = 1,409). RESULTS: The S-NAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Moreover, both Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed that a unifactorial model of workplace bullying fit the data best. Two cutoff points for the S-NAQ were formulated using receiver operating characteristic curves to categorize respondents as "not exposed to workplace bullying" (scores below 15), "at risk of being bullied" (scores between 15 and 22), and "targets of workplace bullying" (scores above 22). CONCLUSIONS: These cutoff scores may help researchers and practitioners in diagnosing workplace bullying and designing intervention strategies.

Effort-Reward Imbalance: A Risk Factor for Exposure to Workplace Bullying.

Previous research shows that work environment factors are important antecedents of workplace bullying (WB), because of the stress they may induce. While previous studies have typically used Karasek's Job Demand-Control model or the Demands-Resources model, the present study investigates whether another important occupational stress model, that is the Effort-Reward Imbalance model, is also associated to WB. A survey study in 19 Belgian organizations (n = 5727) confirmed that employees experiencing an imbalance between efforts and reward were more likely to be targets of exposure to bullying. In line with previous research, this study illustrates that stressful situations increase the risk of exposure to WB. It shows that the perceived incongruence between effort and reward may increase employee vulnerability to bullying. The perceived injustice may lead employees to engage in norm-breaking behavior and also signal low social standing to others, thereby potentially eliciting negative behaviors from others.

A Latent Class Approach for Classifying the Problem and Disordered Gamers in a Group of Adolescence.

Gaming disorder is not yet recognized as a formal psychiatric disorder, and consensus is still lacking in the field concerning the definition of gaming disorder and what methods should be used to measure it. In order to deal with methodological challenges related to previously suggested approaches, the aim of the present study was to develop an alternative assessment procedure for gaming disorder using a latent class cluster approach, and to compare the criterion validity of this procedure with existing assessment procedures. A representative sample of 3,000 adolescents (n = 1,500 female) aged 17.5 years was drawn from the National Registry, and 2,055 participants responded (yielding a response rate of 70.3%). The Gaming Addiction Scale for Adolescents was used to measure gaming disorder and measures of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and aggression were used to test criterion validity. A model with five Latent Class Clusters represented the best fit [BIC(LL) = 21,253,7; L2 = 3,881,204; df = 1,978; Class. Err. = 0.1239]. The five different groups were labeled never symptoms (46.2%), rarely symptoms (22.3%), occasionally symptoms (23.5%), problem gamers (6.9%), and disordered gamers (1.2%). The groups displayed different probabilities of responses (never/rarely/sometimes/often/very often) to the seven Gaming Addiction Scale items. Regarding criterion validity, MANOVA revealed a significant overall main effect of latent classes [F (20, 6359) = 13.50, p < 0.001; Wilks Lambda = 0.871]. All dependent variables (loneliness, depression, anxiety, verbal, and physical aggression) reached statistical significance when results from the dependent variables were considered separately. Comparing the present approach with previous suggested classifications of gaming addiction offered by Lemmens et al. and Charlton and Danforth, the present approach showed greater specificity in terms of number of classes identified. We conclude that the Latent Class approach identifying five different groups of gamers offers a more refined view on addiction compared to previous assessment procedures.

Do Interpersonal Conflict, Aggression and Bullying at the Workplace Overlap? A Latent Class Modeling Approach.

In this paper, we tackle an important but unresolved research question: How distinct are workplace conflict, aggression and bullying? We study this question by means of latent class (LC) analysis using cross-industry data from 6,175 Belgian workers. We find a two-factor solution (conflict-aggression versus bullying) to provide the best fit to the data. Employees with low exposure to conflict-aggression and bullying perceived the phenomena as mostly overlapping. Employees who were exposed more frequently to the phenomena reported them to be more distinct - especially so for workplace bullying. We also find conflict-aggression and bullying to have distinct relationships with well-being and strain outcomes. These findings entail that a simple unifying approach or a single label for all three phenomena is not appropriate, at least from a measurement point of view and from the perspective of those exposed. Our results have important implications for the theoretical understanding of conflict, aggression and bullying, and for practitioners who provide support to affected employees including policymakers who help prevent and manage these problems at the workplace.

Introduction of a new instrument to measure motivation for gaming: the electronic gaming motives questionnaire.

AIMS: To adapt the four-dimensional Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Revised (GMQ-R) to measure the motivation for engaging in electronic gaming, and to validate the internal structure and investigate the criterion validity of the new Electronic Gaming Motives Questionnaire (EGMQ). DESIGN AND SETTING: The GMQ-R was adapted to measure motivation for playing video games and the new instrument was tested on a sample of Norwegian conscripts selected randomly from the pool of conscripts who started their military service between 2013 and 2015. PARTICIPANTS: The questionnaire was administered to all those who had played video games during the last 6 months and consisted of 853 gamers (86.8% men, mean age = 19.4 years). MEASUREMENTS: All participants completed the EGMQ, as well as other measures of gaming behaviour, gaming problems, boredom, loneliness and depression. FINDINGS: The confirmatory factor analyses showed that the proposed EGMQ (measuring enhancement, coping, social and self-gratification motives) displayed satisfactory fit and internal consistency. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that gender emerged as a significant predictor (P < 0.001) of all the dependent variables (variety, hours weekly gaming, loss of control and gaming problems) and the first step explained between 1 and 6.1% of the variance in the gaming behaviours. In the second step the four motivational dimensions explained an additional 5.8-38.8% of the variance. Coping and self-gratification predicted gaming problems (P < 0.001) and coping alone predicted loss of control (P < 0.001). The four motivational dimensions were also predicted differentially by indicators of psychosocial wellbeing, indicating divergent validity of the four motives. CONCLUSIONS: The four-dimensional Electronic Gaming Motives Questionnaire is a valid instrument for measuring motives for gaming.

Aggression from Patients or Next of Kin and Exposure to Bullying Behaviors: A Conglomerate Experience?

Although workplace violence and aggression have been identified as important stressors in the nursing profession, studies simultaneously comparing patient-initiated aggression and exposure to bullying behaviors at work are rather scarce. The aim of this study was to compare aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors in terms of prevalence, health-related quality of life outcomes, and potential overlap in those targeted. In the period of 2008-2009, data were collected among 2059 members of the Norwegian Nurses Organization. Latent class (LC) analysis and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the proposed relationships. The results showed that aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors were perceived as separate and independent stressors. Although aggression from patients or next of kin was more frequent than workplace bullying, the latter was the only significant stressor related to health-related quality of life in terms of reduced mental health functioning. Although being a rather infrequent experience, exposure to bullying behaviors seems to have more severe health-related outcomes for nurses than aggression from patients or next of kin. Hence, the results of the study strengthen previous findings and suggest that managers must aim to maintain a positive psychosocial work environment with zero-tolerance for bullying.

Is the Gambling Motives Questionnaire really three-dimensional? A proposition of a four-dimensional Gambling Motives Questionnaire - Revised.

The aim of the present study was to improve the weaknesses of the three-dimensional Gambling Motives Questionnaire and to examine the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Revised. The Gambling Motives Questionnaire was administered to a sample of 418 gamblers (92% men, mean age 19.5years). Participants completed the Gambling Motives Questionnaire and an additional item tapping boredom, as well as a variety of measures of gambling behavior and gambling problems as criterion measures. Results showed that the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Revised is better represented as a four-factor structure tapping the following four gambling motives factors; enhancement, coping, social, and self-gratification, Δχ2 Δ(df)=24.76 (3), p<0.001. Removing two problematic items from the Gambling Motives Questionnaire and adding an extra item tapping boredom also improved the fit of the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Revised. The subscales enhancement, social, and coping were all significant predictors of variety of gambling behaviors (p<0.05), whereas enhancement, coping, and self-gratification predicted frequency of gambling behaviors (p<0.01). Coping and self-gratification predicted loss of control (p<0.01), whereas self-gratification predicted gambling problems (p<0.001). The Gambling Motives Questionnaire - Revised, consisting of the four dimensions enhancement motives, social motives, coping motives and self-gratification motives, is a reliable and valid instrument to measuring gambling motives.

Does exposure to bullying behaviors at the workplace contribute to later suicidal ideation? A three-wave longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the relative impact of person-related, work-related and physically intimidating bullying behaviors on suicidal ideation two and five years after the fact. METHODS: Logistic regression analyses were utilized to examine relationships between bullying behaviors and suicidal ideation in a random and representative cohort sample of 1775 (T1-T2)/1613 (T1-T3) Norwegian employees. The time lag between T1 and T2 was two years and five years between T1 and T3. Exposure to bullying behaviors was measured with the revised version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire. Suicidal ideation was measured with a single item asking respondents whether they had "Thoughts about ending your life" during the past seven days. RESULTS: Prevalence of suicidal ideation was 4% at T1, 5% at T2, and 4.2% at T3. At T1, 8.2% reported monthly exposure to person-related bullying, 19.1% to work-related bullying, and 1.8% to physically intimidating bullying behaviors. After adjusting for demographic characteristics, baseline suicidal ideation, and the shared variance of the bullying behavior categories, exposure to physical intimidation was the only form of bullying which significantly predicted suicidal ideation two [odds ratio (OR) 10.68, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 4.13-27.58) and five (OR 6.41, 95% CI 1.85-22.14) years later. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to workplace bullying behaviors in the form of physically intimidating behaviors is a risk factor for suicidal ideation. Although the prevalence of physical intimidation is low, this study shows that the consequences can be detrimental and organizations should therefore be especially aware of, and have available measures against, this type of bullying.

When Task Conflict Becomes Personal: The Impact of Perceived Team Performance.

Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relationship conflict. Prior research has identified a set of interpersonal factors (e.g., team communication, team trust) that help attenuate this association. The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative perspective that focuses on the moderating role of performance-related factors (i.e., perceived team performance). Using social identity theory, we build a model that predicts how task conflict associates with growth in relationship conflict and how perceived team performance influences this association. We test a three-wave longitudinal model by means of random coefficient growth modeling, using data from 60 ongoing teams working in a health care organization. Results provide partial support for our hypotheses. Only when perceived team performance is low, do task conflicts relate with growth in relationship conflict. We conclude that perceived team performance seems to enable teams to uncouple task from relationship conflict.