The impact of workplace bullying on individual and organisational well-being in a South African context and the role of coping as a moderator in the bullying-well-being relationship.
Date
2010-08-11
Authors
Upton, Leanne
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Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine the impact of workplace
bullying on individual and organisational outcomes. Additionally the study
attempted to determine the moderating effects of four coping strategies due
to the effects of workplace bullying on the individual, namely, seeking help,
avoidance, assertiveness and doing nothing. The Negative Acts
Questionnaire-Revised was used to assess the perceptions of workplace
bullying within a construction company. A coping scale measuring the four
coping strategies proposed, and which relates to the subject of workplace
bullying, was modified and validated on a South African sample. The
analyses used for the study was that of moderated multiple regression. The
purpose was to determine the main effects of workplace bullying on the
dependent variables, namely, psychological well-being, self esteem, job
satisfaction and intention to leave. Secondly, it was used to assess the
moderating effects of the four coping strategies on the dependent variables
due to the impact of workplace bullying. The results reported main effects for
workplace bullying on the dependent variables, however inverse relationships
were reported for workplace bullying on job satisfaction and intention to
leave. Secondly, an interaction effect for all four of the coping strategies on
psychological well-being was reported, although inverse relationships were
found for the coping strategies of avoidance and doing nothing on
psychological well-being. Furthermore, an interaction effect for the coping
strategy of avoidance was reported for self esteem. Direct effects were
reported between the coping strategy of seeking help and psychological wellbeing,
as well as between the coping strategy of avoidance and job
satisfaction, albeit the latter was inverse in nature. Confounding variables
were also assessed in order to account for any spuriousness within the data.
The covariate of race demonstrated a significant, yet inverse effect on
intention to leave. No moderating effects for job satisfaction and intention to
leave were reported. A discussion of these findings, the limitations of the
research and theoretical implications of the present study are noted. In
addition, advances made by the present research towards a greater
understanding of workplace bullying and coping within South Africa are
acknowledged. Furthermore, recommendations for future research on
workplace bullying and coping are elaborated on.