Status inconsistency: an antecedent to bullying behaviour in groups

Abstract

Bullying is a common and constantly reoccurring phenomenon in organizations. The increasing diversity of the workplace is an accepted fact, which has the potential to increase the occurrence of status inconsistency. The purpose of this paper is to examine the theory of status inconsistency and its usefulness as a predictor to identifying when bullying might occur in a work group setting. In addition, the possible impact of bullying on group dynamics and ultimately group performance is explored. The central tenet of this paper is that bullying is a possible behaviour given a group member's intense emotional feelings of stress related to status inconsistency. The paper concludes by highlighting a few managerial implications relative to effectively addressing bullying behaviour in groups and identifying future directions to better understanding and researching bullying in a group context.

In a recent study, it was found that: (1) 78% of the respondents felt incivility [bullying] in the workplace has worsened in the past ten years; (2) 46% of the respondents considered quitting their jobs due to increasing pressure from bullies; (3) 12% of the respondents who experienced rude behaviour quit their jobs to avoid the bully and/or perpetrator; and (4) 37% of the respondents indicated their commitment to the organization had declined (Pearson, 1999).

Keywords:

• Bullying
• status inconsistency theory
• stress
• predicting bullying behaviour