“Yes, We Have an Anti-bullying Policy, But … :” HR Professionals' Understandings and Experiences with Workplace Bullying Policy

Abstract

Although human resource (HR) professionals have extensive involvement in workplace bullying situations, research is not reflective of their perspective. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the use of anti-bullying policy in organizations. Interviews with 36 HR professionals and analysis of 18 organizational policies revealed many HR professionals believed their organizations had policies that addressed bullying, but the policies did not use the term “bullying.” Others did not believe their organizations had policies that could address bullying or did not know if their organization had a policy. What the HR professionals felt the policies communicated and what the policies actually detailed proved to be divergent. Implications of these findings, limitations, and future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• Bullying
• Human Resource Professionals
• Organizational Policy

Acknowledgments

This research is part of the author's dissertation work. The author would like to thank Dr. Charles Conrad for his direction and feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Renee L. Cowan

Renee L. Cowan (PhD, Texas A&M University, 2009) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Texas at San Antonio.