Is Bullying Ever Justified?
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on May 30, 2018
The first time that I thought about this question was a couple of years ago when I first saw Monica Lewinsky’s moving TED talk on the price of shame. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend you take a look. https://www.ted.com/talks/monica_lewinsky_the_price_of_shame#t-260274 After seeing this talk, I came to the horrible realization that I was guilty […]
The Social Isolation of Workplace Incivility
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on December 29, 2016
There’s been lots of research on workplace incivility, all of it showing that it adversely affects victims. Even though incivility is low in intensity and has an ambiguous intent to harm victims (Andersson & Pearson, 1999), it still leads to health problems for victims (e.g., anxiety), it contributes to negative work attitudes (less commitment, higher intentions […]
Social Death at Work
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on September 2, 2015
Lately I’ve become interested in workplace ostracism as a form of workplace aggression. Most research lumps ostracism with other forms of mistreatment (incivility, bullying, etc.), but a recent chapter by Sandra Robinson and Kira Schabram (in press), has convinced me that it is in fact quite different, and possibly much more painful than other forms of workplace […]
When Workplace Harassment is Okay…
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on June 24, 2013
Today the US Supreme Court ruled that workplace mistreatment only counts as job harassment if it comes from a supervisor. Apparently it’s open season for all bullies out there to go to town because when abuse comes from a coworker, responsibility for the action does not lie with the organization. What??? This ruling effectively absolves […]
Witness Reactions to Workplace Aggression
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on January 15, 2013
There has been surprisingly little research that looks at how witnesses react to workplace aggression. Do they stand by and watch? Do they join in? Do they report it? Social psychological research on the “bystander effect” suggests that witnesses might not do very much. The bystander effect (Darley & Latané, 1968) refers to a large body […]
The role of envy in social undermining behaviour
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on December 29, 2012
Why do people think it’s okay to undermine others? Our mother’s used to tell us “never mind them dear, they’re just jealous of you.” It seems that there was some truth to that claim. In a recent study, Duffy, Scott, Shaw, Tepper, & Aquino (2012) found that when people feel envious of others, they are […]
Can there be fairness in bullying?
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on December 2, 2012
What if your boss abuses not only you, but everyone else in your work group? Will that make you feel better or worse? It turns out you are likely to feel better (or at least less bad) than if your boss (or coworkers) abuses only you. Duffy et al. (2006) found that when a focal […]
So what can we do about workplace aggression?
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on November 7, 2012
Despite the large body of research that shows consistent negative effects of workplace aggression on targets and the organization, there is surprisingly little intervention research. So what can we do about workplace aggression? A recent intervention study shows that civility training seems to work. Leiter et al. (2011; 2012) showed that civility training not only […]
Can your partner’s experience of workplace abuse affect your marriage?
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on October 21, 2012
Recent research seems to suggest that it can. First, when one person experiences mistreatment at work, his or her spouse is more likely to experience health decrements. In a study of over 2000 couples, Haines, Marchand, and Harvey (2006) found workplace aggression experienced by one or both partners in a relationship increased the level of […]
Do victims contribute to their own abuse?
Posted by Sandy Hershcovis in Workplace aggression on October 7, 2012
Over the last decade, an emerging body of research on workplace aggression has started to examine whether victims possess a common set of target characteristics. This is clearly a controversial question because it implies that victims may be, at least in part, to blame for their mistreatment. Findings have shown that victims often possess angry or anxious […]