Workplace bullying and incivility: a systematic review of interventions

Abstract

Purpose -Workplace mistreatment has a negative impact on the health and well-being of approximately 20 per cent of workers. Despite this, few interventions have been evaluated and published. The purpose of this paper is to address the question "what interventions designed to reduce workplace bullying or incivility are effective and what can be learnt from evaluated interventions for future practice?" Design/methodology/approach -A systematic review was undertaken in which 11 electronic databases were searched, yielding 5,364 records. Following screening on abstract and title, 31 papers were retained for detailed review and quality assessment. Subsequently, 12 interventions to address workplace bullying or incivility were critically appraised. Findings -The papers spanned a wide range of approaches to and assumptions about resolving the problem of bullying and/or incivility. Half the studies focused on changing individual behaviours or knowledge about bullying or incivility, and duration of intervention ranged from two hours to two years. Only four studies were controlled before-after studies. Only three studies were classed as "moderate" in terms of quality, two of which were effective and one of which was partially effective. Originality/value -A final synthesis of results of the review indicate that multi-component, organisational level interventions appear to have a positive effect on levels of incivility, and should be considered as a basis for developing interventions to address workplace bullying.

Ethical Infrastructure and Successful Handling of Workplace Bullying

“…Related research on workplace bullying has so far focused on the interventions against and preventions of workplace bullying, and their success has been measured by evaluating the reduction in prevalence rates (Escartin, 2016;Hodgins, 2014). Recommendations have often been based on research findings regarding the antecedents and correlates of workplace bullying (Hodgins et al, 2014;Saam, 2010;Salin, 2009). However, only few studies have addressed the effects of such measures on workplace bullying (Hodgins et al, 2014;Saam, 2010).…”

“…Recommendations have often been based on research findings regarding the antecedents and correlates of workplace bullying (Hodgins et al, 2014;Saam, 2010;Salin, 2009). However, only few studies have addressed the effects of such measures on workplace bullying (Hodgins et al, 2014;Saam, 2010). This study showed that the elements of the formal and informal systems inherent in the ethical infrastructure against workplace bullying are interrelated.…”

“…Exposure to such highly unethical behavior has been shown to be related to a range of negative consequences at both the individual and the organizational levels Hoel et al, 2011;Hogh et al, 2011;Nielsen & Einarsen, 2012;Salin & Hoel, 2011). To combat such unethical behavior, most studies have focused on the interventions tailored at preventing workplace bullying (Escartin, 2016;Hodgins et al, 2014;Saam, 2010;Salin, 2009). However, as Hodgins (2014) argued, employees experiencing bullying are frustrated by their organization`s poor response and inability to handle such misdeeds.…”

“…To combat such unethical behavior, most studies have focused on the interventions tailored at preventing workplace bullying (Escartin, 2016;Hodgins et al, 2014;Saam, 2010;Salin, 2009). However, as Hodgins (2014) argued, employees experiencing bullying are frustrated by their organization`s poor response and inability to handle such misdeeds. To our knowledge, no study has demonstrated the extent to which the handling of workplace bullying is perceived as successful.…”

Bullying versus creativity: Mutually exclusive workplace behaviors

“…Further, the findings from Einarsen and Nielsen, 2015;Hodgins, et al, 2014;and Rousseau, et al, 2014, show that targets of workplace bullying are not just bullied four or five times, as the rats in the Miczek study, they often face months or even years of abuse (Hollis, 2016). During such abuse, the stress hormone is consistently poured into the brain, killing brain neurons.…”