Prevalence, characteristics, and psychological outcomes of workplace cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: a cross-sectional online survey

Abstract

Background The rapid introduction of teleworking due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has led to concerns about increases in cyberbullying (CB) worldwide. However, little is known about workplace CB in non-Western countries. The first objective was to clarify the prevalence and characteristics regarding workplace CB victimization in Japan. The second objective was to demonstrate the psychological outcomes of CB victimization in combination with traditional bullying (TB). Methods We conducted an anonymous, cross-sectional, Internet-based survey targeting regular employees in Japan (N = 1200) in January 2021. We investigated CB victimization using the Inventory of Cyberbullying Acts at Work and TB victimization by using the Short Negative Act Questionnaire. Possible explanatory factors for TB/CB victimization were sociodemographic variables, personality trait, chronic occupational stress, organizational climate, and gratitude at work. We also measured psychological distress, insomnia, and loneliness to assess adverse effects of workplace bullying. Two-step cluster analysis was used in determining the patterns combined with TB and CB victimization. Hierarchical binomial logistic regression analysis was used. Results In total, 8.0% of employees reported experiencing CB on a weekly basis. CB victimization was associated with younger age, managerial position, higher qualitative workload, and active information dissemination via the Internet, and frequency of teleworking. Three clusters based on TB and CB victimization patterns were identified: those who belong to the first cluster suffered neither from TB and CB (81.0%), the second cluster suffered only from TB (14.3%), and the third cluster suffered from both TB and CB (4.8%). The third cluster exhibited higher odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for psychological distress (OR = 12.63, 95% CI = 4.20–38.03), insomnia (OR = 6.26, 95% CI = 2.80–14.01), and loneliness (OR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.74–6.04) compared to the first cluster. Conclusions These findings firstly clarify the prevalence and correlated factors of CB victimization among employees in Japan. Further, we showed that psychological wellbeing can be impaired by the coexistence of TB and CB. Our research could be the first step to develop the effective countermeasures against workplace CB.

Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Increase or Decrease the Global Cyberbullying Behaviors? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Enduring Factors: Personal Characteristics Demographic factors. Younger age was found to be a consistent risk factor for cyberbullying across eight studies (Ikeda et al, 2022;Jain et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2022;Teng et al, 2021;Trompeter et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2022;Yang, 2021;. Of note, one study pointed out that the age group of 17-18 was highly susceptible to cyberbullying victimization (Jain et al, 2020).…”

“…Routine online activities were consistently found to contribute to cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Internet addition and more online activities such as chatting, gambling, and playing games were found to be associated with cyberbullying perpetration in three studies (Kee et al, 2022;Maftei et al, 2022;Vejmelka & Matković, 2021) and were found to be associated with cyberbullying victimization during the pandemic in five studies (Ikeda et al, 2022;Jain et al, 2020;Morales-Arjona et al, 2022;Paek et al, 2021;Vejmelka & Matković, 2021). Additionally, two studies examined COVID-19 information overload and active information dissemination as factors associated with cyberbullying perpetration (Wang et al, 2022) and cyberbullying victimization (Ikeda et al, 2022), respectively.…”

“…Enduring factors are usually stable over time, including personal characteristics (e.g., demographic factors, socioeconomic status, history of bullying) (Jain et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2022;Shin & Choi, 2021;Trompeter et al, 2022), cultural factors and individual consciousness (e.g., Confucian responsibility thinking, awareness of cyberbullying) (Wang et al, 2022;. Transient factors are fluctuating conditions that may be affected by the pandemic, including cyber factors (e.g., online activities) (Ikeda et al, 2022;Jain et al, 2020;Maftei et al, 2022;Paek et al, 2022), mesosystems (e.g., family support, school engagement) (Rodriguez-Rivas et al, 2022;Shin & Choi, 2021), and virus-related stressors (e.g., COVID-19 infection) (Barlett, Rinker, et al, 2021;Teng et al, 2021). Among the above factors, more internet use, and some personal characteristics such as history of bullying were common risk factors for cyberbullying victimization and perpetration (Lee et al, 2022;Jain et al, 2020;Shin & Choi, 2021;Vejmelka & Matković, 2021).…”

Perception of Bullying in Early Childhood Education in Spain: Pre-School Teachers vs. Psychologists

“…These plans make it possible to carry out a sociological study of the student body to detect at an earlier stage any type of hostile situation among students [ 13 ], as well as the possible conditioning factors that may predispose a person to being a victim, such as unpopularity, shyness, educational needs, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Likewise, it would be observed whether a student could be a possible aggressor or have a role as a “student mediator” who would help the victim by informing teachers about any conflict inside or outside the classroom [ 1 , 2 , 14 ]. There are several methods to control bullying, which are chosen by schools according to their preferences and needs.…”

Workplace Measures Against COVID-19 and Mistreatment in the Workplace Among Japanese Employees

“…3 In Japan, the frequency of workplace bullying has been reported to be relatively low compared with other countries, with published estimates ranging from 9.0% to 9.7%. 4,5 Workplace mistreatment creates cost problems due to increased absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover. 6 Individuals who experience mistreatment also take more sick leave.…”