Abstract
Bullying is one of the most impactful deviant actions that affects workers’ personal health and work experience. Bullying is a quite distinctive deviant behavior as targets are subjected to transgressions that could last for months or longer. Even though a number of actions can be taken to resolve bullying between all parties, from the viewpoint of the target it is hard to resolve the situation. As a result, hierarchical influence may be necessary to prevent bullying in the first place. A possible solution, therefore, is focusing on how leaders can impact the bullying behavior. This research argued and showed that ethical leadership is negatively associated with being bullied through tackling one of its most important antecedents of bullying: the design of the work environment. That is, ethical leaders could be shown to improve employees’ workload (quantitative work environment) and poor working conditions (qualitative work environment), which was related to decreased bullying.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agervold, M.: 2009, ‘The Significance of Organizational Factors for the Incidence of Bullying’, Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 50, 267-276.
Aquino, K. and S. Thau: 2009, ‘Workplace victimization: Aggression from the target’s perspective’,Annual Review of Psychology 60, 717-741.
Baillien, E., A. Rodriguez-Muñoz, H. De Witte, G. Notelaers and B. Moréno-Jimenez: in press, ‘The Demand-Control Model and Target’s Reports of Bullying at Work: A Test within Spanish and Belgian Blue-Collar Workers’, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.
Baillien, E., I. Neyens, H. De Witte and N. De Cuyper: 2009, ‘Towards a Three Way Model of Workplace Bullying: a Qualitative Study’, Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 19, 1-16.
Bandura, A.: 1977, ‘Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change’, Psychological Review 84, 191-215.
Bandura, A.: 1986, Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive View, (Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ).
Bell, P. A.: 1992,’In defense of the negative affect escape model of heat and aggression’,Psychological Bulletin 112, 342-346.
Brannick, M. T., D. Chan, J. M. Conway, C. E., Lance, and P. E. Spector: 2010. ‘What Is Method Variance and How Can We Cope With It? A Panel Discussion’, Organizational Research Methods 13(3), 407-420. doi: 10.1177/1094428109360993.
Brown, M. E. and L.K. Treviño: 2006, ‘Ethical Leadership: A Review and Future Directions’, The Leadership Quarterly 17, 595-616.
Brown, M. E., L.K. Treviño and D. A. Harrison: 2005, ‘Ethical Leadership: A Social Learning Perspective for Construct Development and Testing’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 97(2), 117-134.
Campion, M. A. and P. W. Thayer: 1985, ‘Development and Field Evaluation of an Interdisciplinary Measure of Job Design’, Journal of Applied Psychology 70, 29–43.
Clark, M. A. and S. L. Leonard: 1998, ‘Can Corporate Codes of Ethics Influence Behavior’, Journal of Business Ethics 17, 619-613.
Crampton, S.M., and J. A. Wagner III: 1994,’Percept-percept inflation in micro-organizational research: An investigation of prevalence and effect.’Journal of Applied Psychology 79, 67-76.
Durkheim, E.: 1951, Suicide (Free Press, New York).
Einarsen, S., H. Hoel and G. Notelaers: 2009a, ‘Measuring Exposure to Bullying and Harassment at Work: Validity, Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised’, Work & Stress 23, 24-44.
Einarsen, S., S. B. Matthiesen and L. J. Hauge: 2009b, ‘Bullying and Harassment at Work’, in S. Cartwright and C. L. Cooper (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Personnel Psychology (Sage publications, London), pp. 464 – 495.
Einarsen, S., H. Hoel, D. Zapf, and C. L. Cooper: 2003, ‘The Concept Of Bullying at Work. The European Tradition’, in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf and C. L. Cooper (eds.), Bullying and Emotional Abuse at The Workplace. International Perspectives in Research and Practice (Taylor and Francis, London), pp. 3-30.
Fox, S. and P. E. Spector: 1999, ‘A Model of Work Frustration-Aggression’, Journal of Organizational Behavior 20, 915-931.
Furda J.: 1995, ‘Werk, Persoon en Welzijn: Een Toets van het JD-C Model [Work, Personality, and Well-Being: a Test of the JD-C Model]’. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Hauge, L. J., A. Skogstad, and S. Einarsen: 2007, ‘Relationships between Stressful Work Environments and Bullying: Results of a Large Representative Study’, Work & Stress 21, 220-242.
Hoel, H., L. Glaso, J. Hetland, C. Cooper and S. Einarsen: 2010, ‘Leadership Styles as Predictors of Self-Reported and Observed Workplace Bullying’, British Journal of Management 21, 453–468. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2009.00664.x
Hoel, H. and D. Salin: 2003,’Organisational antecedents of workplace bullying’,in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf and C. Cooper (eds), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in The Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice, (Taylor and Francis, London), pp. 145-162.
Høgh A., M. E. Henriksson and H. Burr: 2005, ‘A 5-Year Follow-Up Study of Aggression at Work and Psychological Health’, International Journal of Behavioral Medicine 12, 256–265.
Humphrey, S. E., J. D. Nahrgang, and F. P. Morgeson: 2007, ‘Integrating Motivational, Social, and Contextual Work Design Features: A Meta-Analytic Summary and Theoretical Extension of The Work Design Literature’, Journal of Applied Psychology 92(5), 1332-1356.
Karasek R.A.: 1985, Job Content Questionnaire, (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA).
Keashly, L. and K. Jagatic: 2003, ‘By Any Other Name: American Perspectives on Workplace Bullying’, in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf and C. Cooper (eds), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in The Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice, (Taylor and Francis, London), pp. 31-61.
Kohlberg, L.: 1969, Stages in the Development of Moral Thought and Action, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Lawrence, C. andP. Leather: 1999,’The social psychology of violence and aggression’,in P. Leather, C. Brady, C. Lawrence, D. Beale and T. Cox (eds.), Work-related violence: Assesment and intervention, (Routledge, London), pp. 34-51.
Le Blanc, P., J. de Jonge and W. Schaufeli: 2000, ‘Job Stress and Health’, in K. Chmiel (ed.), Introduction To Work And Organizational Psychology, (Blackwell Publishers, Oxford), pp. 148-170.
Leymann, H.: 1996, ‘The Content and Development of Mobbing at Work’, European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology 5 (2), 165-184.
Lombardo, M. M. and M. W. McCall Jr.: 1984, ‘The Intolerable Boss’, Psychology Today, 44–48.
Magerøy, N., B. Lau, T. Riise and B. E. Moen: 2009, ‘Association of Psychosocial Factors and Bullying at Individual and Department Levels among Naval Military Personnel’,Journal of Psychosomatic Research 66, 343-351.
Mayer, D. M., M. Kuenzi, R. Greenbaum, M. Bardes and R. Salvador: 2009, ‘How Low Does Ethical Leadership Flow? Test of A Trickle-Down Model’, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 108, 1-13.
Merton, R. K.: 1968, Social theory and social structure’ (New York, Free Press).
Mikkelsen, E. and S. Einarsen: 2001, ‘Bullying in Danish Work-Life: Prevalence and Health Correlates’, European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology 10, 393-413.
Morgeson, F. P. and M. A. Campion: 2003, ‘Work Design’, in W. C. Borman, D. R. Ilgen, and R. J. Klimoski (eds.), Handbook of Psychology: Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Wiley, Hoboken, NJ), Vol. 12, pp. 423–452.
Namie, G. and R. Namie: 2000, The Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity on The Job, Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
Nielsen, M. B., A. Skogstad, S. B. Matthiesen, L. Glaso, M. S. Aasland, G. Notelaers and S. Einarsen: 2009, ‘Prevalence of Workplace Bullying in Norway: Comparisons across Time and Estimation Methods’, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 18, 81 – 101.
Notelaers, G. and S. Einarsen: 2008, The Construction and Validation of the Short – Negative Acts Questionnaire. Paper Presented at 6th International Conference on Workplace Bullying (Montreal, Canada).
Notelaers, G., S. Einarsen, H. De Witte and J. K. Vermunt: 2006, ‘Measuring Exposure to Bullying at Work: The Validity and Advantages of the Latent Class Cluster Approach’, Work & Stress 20, 288-301.
Paoli, P.: 1997, Second European Survey on Working Conditions in the European Union. Vol EF/97/26: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Piccolo, R. F., R. Greenbaum, D. N. den Hartog and R. Folger: 2010, ‘The Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Core Job Characteristics’, Journal of Organizational Behavior 31, 259-278.
Podsakoff, P. M., S. B. MacKenzie, J. Y. and N. P. Podsakoff: 2003, ‘Common Method Biases in Behavioral Research: A Critical Review of the Literature and Recommended Remedies’,Journal of Applied Psychology 88, 879-903.
Preacher, K. and A. Hayes: 2008, ‘Asymptotic and Resampling Strategies for Assessing and Comparing Indirect Effects in Multiple Mediator Models’, Behavior Research Methods40(3), 879-891.
Rodriguez-Muñoz, A., E. Baillien, H. De Witte, B. Moréno-Jimenez and J. C. Pastor: 2009, ‘Cross-Lagged Relationships between Workplace Bullying, Job Satisfaction, and Engagement: Two Longitudinal Studies’, Work & Stress 23, 225-243.
Salin, D.: 2003 ‘Bullying and organisational politics in competitive and rapidly changing work environments’, International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 4, 35-46.
Salin, D.: 2009, ‘Organisational Responses to Workplace Harassment: An Exploratory Study’, Personnel Review 38, 26-44.
Schweitzer, M. E., L. Ordonez and B. Douma: 2004, ‘Goal Setting as a Motivator of Unethical Behavior’, Academy of Management Journal 47, 422-432.
Shrout, P. and N. Bolger: 2002, ‘Mediation in Experimental and Nonexperimental Studies: New Procedures and Recommendations’, Psychological methods7, 422-445.
Singhapakdi, A., S. J. Vitell and G. R. Franke: 1999, ‘Antecedents, Consequences, and Mediating Effects of Perceived Moral Intensity and Personal Moral Philosophies’, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 27(1), 19-36.
Skogstad, A., S. Einarsen, T. Torsheim, M. S. Aasland and H. Hetland: 2007, ‘The Destructiveness of Laissez-Faire Leadership Behavior’, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 12, 80-92. doi: 10.1037/1076-8998.12.1.80.
Spector, P. E.: 2006, ‘Method Variance in Organizational Research: Truth or Urban Legend?’, Organizational Research Methods 9(2), 221.
Treviño, L. K., M. Brown and L. P. Hartman: 2003, ‘A Qualitative Investigation of Perceived Executive Ethical Leadership: Perceptions from Inside and Outside the Executive Suite’, Human Relations 56(1), 5-37.
Treviño, L., L. Hartman and M. Brown: 2000, ‘Moral Person and Moral Manager: How Executives Develop a Reputation for Ethical Leadership’, California Management Review 42(4), 128-142.
UNISON.: 1997, Bullying at Work: Bullying Survey Report, (UNISON, London).
Victor, B. and J. B. Cullen: 1988, ‘The Organizational Bases of Ethical Work Climates’, Administrative Science Quarterly 33, 101-125.
Williams, L. J., J. A. Cote, and M. R. Buckley, M. R.: 1989, ‘Lack of method variance in self-reported affect and perceptions at work: Reality or artifact?’, Journal of Applied Psychology 74, 462-468.
Wrzesniewski, A., J. E. Dutton and G. Debebe: 2003, ‘Interpersonal Sensemaking and the Meaning of Work’, Research in organizational behavior 25, 93-136.
Zapf, D., S. Einarsen, H. Hoel and M. Vartia: 2003, ‘Empirical Findings On Bullying In The Workplace’, in S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf and C. L. Cooper (eds.), Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace. International Perspectives in Research and Practice (Taylor and Francis, London), pp. 103-126.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stouten, J., Baillien, E., Van den Broeck, A. et al. Discouraging Bullying: The Role of Ethical Leadership and its Effects on the Work Environment. J Bus Ethics 95 (Suppl 1), 17–27 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0797-x
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0797-x