Hierarchies and bullying: an examination into the drivers for workplace harassment within organisation

Abstract

Harassment comes in many forms, including workplace bullying, and despite efforts to date to address this serious issue, reported rates of incidents continue to rise. Considering the organisational hierarchy structure from the bureaucratic theory perspective, this paper adds to the conversation of power imbalance, competition and interpersonal relationships management within organisational structures and their relationship to workplace harassment by examining current policies and practices within the federal public service, Canada’s largest single employer. The examination concludes that power imbalances can create opportunity for harassment, competitive work environments can encourage and reward behaviours that some could consider harassing, and dehumanisation of employees by managers resulting from hierarchical structures could result in harassment in the workplace. A case study is used to illustrate these relationships and provide in-depth understanding of these complex issues in a real-life context. In addition, recommendations for managers on how to adapt business practices to decrease opportunities for workplace bullying are prescribed.

Keywords:

• Bullying
• harassment
• hierarchies
• federal public service
• Joanna Gualtieri

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sandra Wright

Sandra Wright is currently Director General of Modernization for the Receiver General of Canada transforming service delivery. She is a PhD student at Carleton University with an interest in organizational psychology and seeks to continually find ways to improve working conditions for employees at all levels of government.