Measuring workplace bullying in organisations

Abstract

This paper intends to explore alternative ways to measure workplace bullying and to propose to HR professionals and academics a uniform and common way to assess the phenomenon. Based on a survey on 840 junior and middle managers from diverse sectors in Greece, we are trying to extract conclusions on the incidents and characteristics of workplace bullying, in a country where empirical evidence on bullying is very limited and where cultural dimensions differ from countries with extensive research evidence on workplace bullying and wide application of preventive measures. In Greece, workplace bullying is found to follow grossly similar patterns to those reported in relevant studies in Europe. The results vary according to the measurement methodology used. The latent class cluster analysis on the negative acts questionnaire scale, as previously proposed by other authors, is found to reflect more accurately the reality of workplace bullying occurrence, than other instruments (self-labelling or operational methodologies, which are tested here). The conclusions of this study are valuable to researchers and practitioners who wish to measure or compare the occurrence of workplace bullying in their organisations, based on specific and acceptable standards, around the globe.

Keywords::

• Greece
• latent class cluster analysis
• negative acts questionnaire
• workplace bullying