Nightmares, Demons, and Slaves

Abstract

Although considerable research has linked workplace bullying with psychosocial and physical costs, the stories and conceptualizations of mistreatment by those targeted are largely untold. This study uses metaphor analysis to articulate and explore the emotional pain of workplace bullying and, in doing so, helps to translate its devastation and encourage change. Based on qualitative data gathered from focus groups, narrative interviews, and target drawings, the analysis describes how bullying can feel like a battle, water torture, nightmare, or noxious substance. Abused workers frame bullies as narcissistic dictators, two-faced actors, and devil figures. Employees targeted with workplace bullying liken themselves to vulnerable children, slaves, prisoners, animals, and heartbroken lovers. These metaphors highlight and delimit possibilities for agency and action. Furthermore, they may serve as diagnostic cues, providing shorthand necessary for early intervention.

Bullying and health at work: The mediating roles of psychological capital and social support

“…Separately, these resources each partially mediated the relationship, but taken together they provided full mediation. This replicates previous findings on social resources (Djurkovic et al, 2008;Leather et al, 1998;Schat & Kelloway, 2003;Soares et al, 2000;Tracy et al, 2006), and also provides some initial evidence of an important role for psychological capital in regard to bullying at work. The individual predictions that (i) psychological capital would be related negatively to ill-being and positively to wellbeing, and (ii) the experience of bullying would be related positively to ill-being and negatively to well-being, were supported by the findings from the correlation analysis as well as from the model fit.…”

“…Researchers have found that co-worker support is important in reducing the negative impact of bullying (Djurkovic, McCormack, & Casimir, 2008;Leather, Lawrence, Beale, Cox, & Dickson, 1998;Schat & Kelloway, 2003;Soares, Lawoko, & Nolan, 2000;Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik, & Alberts, 2006) and that victims of bullying tend to report less support from co-workers (Hansen et al, 2006). In the literature on stress and coping, social support has been unanimously demonstrated as a key variable in both mediating and moderating stress (Cassidy, 2011).…”

Executive coaching in diversity from the systems psychodynamic perspective

“…A diversity leadership challenge is the paucity of leadership practices that respond appropriately to diversity problems (Aguirre, 2008). Another challenge is workplace bullying (Lutgen-Sandrik & Alberts, 2006), which can occur because of gender or race (Lutgen-Sandrik & Alberts, 2006). Because competition, power struggles, envy and prejudice characterise diverse workplaces, they can trigger bullying (Heames & Harvey, 2006).…”

Corporate Psychopaths, Bullying and Unfair Supervision in the Workplace

“…Bullying causes great emotional pain to its victims (Lutgen-Sandvik, 2008;Tracy et al, 2006) but also has financial costs to the organizations concerned. As an example of this, according to one UK report, bullying costs the UK economy £13.75 billion per year (Anonymous, 2008).…”