Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, 2019
This chapter presents an overview of workplace bullying and cyberbullying scales
currently used i... more This chapter presents an overview of workplace bullying and cyberbullying scales currently used in quantitative research and highlights their characteristics, main strengths and weaknesses. Using well-defined inclusion (i.e. reported in the international scientific literature, validated or based on validated scales, and availability of items) and exclusion criteria (i.e. reported in unpublished manuscripts, reviews, guidelines, commentaries, abstracts and conference proceedings), a total of 47 validated scales on workplace bullying and cyberbullying were examined. These scales were developed to tap workplace (cyber)bullying (a) from the target’s perspective, (b) from the actor’s perspective, (c) within specific professional and occupational contexts and (d) within different geographical and cultural contexts (i. e. adaptations of the most widely used workplace bullying scale—the Negative Acts Questionnaire, NAQ). A first important conclusion from our review is that research has used great heterogeneity in quantitative scales measuring the problem which, although could be valuable in specific contexts, challenges the comparability of the results. Alternatively, we see some dominantly applied scales of which we question ourselves whether these scales are in fact always suitable for assessing (cyber) bullying in a certain context without a thorough validation. A second conclusion is that several scales were developed based on different perspectives on item construction and validity. Therefore, we outline a number of ways to further improve and standardize the methodology applied in designing scales to assess workplace (cyber)bullying (i.e. the need to capture both the state and the process of the phenomenon, scales on bystanders). Finally, this chapter concludes with a call for more tightly controlled and methodologically sophisticated studies, paying greater attention to being sensitive and careful in the inference of causality.
Previous research shows that work environment factors are important antecedents of workplace bull... more Previous research shows that work environment factors are important antecedents of workplace bullying (WB), because of the stress they may induce. While previous studies have typically used Karasek's Job Demand-Control model or the Demands-Resources model, the present study investigates whether another important occupational stress model, that is the Effort-Reward Imbalance model, is also associated to WB. A survey study in 19 Belgian organizations (n = 5727) confirmed that employees experiencing an imbalance between efforts and reward were more likely to be targets of exposure to bullying. In line with previous research, this study illustrates that stressful situations increase the risk of exposure to WB. It shows that the perceived incongruence between effort and reward may increase employee vulnerability to bullying. The perceived injustice may lead employees to engage in norm-breaking behavior and also signal low social standing to others, thereby potentially eliciting negative behaviors from others.
Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, 2019
In this chapter, we scrutinize the construct validity of quantitative empirical research
on workp... more In this chapter, we scrutinize the construct validity of quantitative empirical research on workplace bullying and harassment during the last 5 years.We aim to respond to the question to what degree inferences can be legitimately made from the operationalizations in workplace bullying and harassment studies to the theoretical constructs on which those operationalizations were based. After carefully studying common definitions of workplace bullying and harassment, we found that scholars are largely in agreement (up to 90%) about two definitional issues: bullying is repeated and systematic negative social behaviour that endures over a longer period of time. In the light of these two definitional characteristics, we found that construct validity in this scholarly field is largely threatened in quantitative studies. Therefore, to improve the construct validity, we suggest some strategies. For researchers using behavioural inventories, we firstly recommend employing better-informed research designs and, in particular, sampling strategies. Researchers must sample enough targets or victims of bullying to be able to profoundly go into the discourse of bullying. Secondly, we advise these researchers to categorize their focal study variable to increase its construct validity. Researchers who use primarily the selflabelling approach are appealed to use definitions that operationalize, in a similar or equivalent way, the two fundamental features explained above that are shared by an overwhelming majority of bullying definitions. In addition, we invite researchers to use equivalent response sets. Finally, we call researchers to move away from a definitionalist view on construct validity by embracing a more relationalist view on workplace bullying and harassment, enabling them to investigate the issue of construct validity in relation to neighbouring or related concepts such as workplace incivility, counterproductive workplace behaviour, abusive supervision, workplace aggression and conflicts.
Background: Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor
at work. However, in the Spa... more Background: Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor at work. However, in the Spanish context, there is a lack of measures that allow researchers and practitioners to distinguish between non-targets and targets of workplace bullying. Method: This study reports the psychometric properties, factor structure, and cutoff scores for the Short- Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) in a Spanish sample (N = 1,409). Results: The S-NAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Moreover, both Exploratory and Confi rmatory Factor Analysis revealed that a unifactorial model of workplace bullying fi t the data best. Two cutoff points for the S-NAQ were formulated using receiver operating characteristic curves to categorize respondents as “not exposed to workplace bullying” (scores below 15), “at risk of being bullied” (scores between 15 and 22), and “targets of workplace bullying” (scores above 22). Conclusions: These cutoff scores may help researchers and practitioners in diagnosing workplace bullying and designing intervention strategies. Keywords: Workplace bullying, mobbing, cutoff scores, thresholds, ROC curve, prevalence.
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 2018
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which emotional experiences media... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which emotional experiences mediate the relationships between employees’ perception of considerate and/or tyrannical leadership behaviors and their work engagement and intention to leave the organization. The notion of symmetric and asymmetric relationships between specific kinds of leadership behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal outcomes is also examined. Design/methodology/approach – Employing a survey design, the variables were assessed in a cross-sectional sample of 312 employees. Findings – The study confirmed the notion of symmetric relationships between specific kinds of leadership behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal outcomes. Contrary to the general notion that “bad is stronger than good,” the results indicated that positive emotions were equal or stronger mediators than the negative ones regarding the two outcomes measured in the present study. Originality/value – The paper is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first paper which examines simultaneously how constructive and destructive leadership styles, and positive and negative affects, are related to employee attitudes outcomes, and evokes a discussion when bad is stronger than good or vice versa regarding leadership outcomes.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible role of job insecurity climate as ... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible role of job insecurity climate as a moderator in the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire data were collected from 466 employees working in 14 organizations from both the private and public sector. Following the core tenets of social exchange theory and occupational stress theories, the authors argue that ideally job insecurity is studied as a climate-level construct, given the fact that intra-group social exchange processes strongly influence the formation of employee perceptions about specific aspects of their work context (e.g. job insecurity). Findings – In line with one of the hypotheses, multi-level analyses revealed that LMX is significantly and positively related to OCBs. In addition, the authors found support for a negative moderation effect, such that LMX has a less strongly positive relationship with extra-role behaviors that are beneficial to the organization when job insecurity climate is high. Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited empirical scholarly research on job insecurity climate and its correlates. Management and HR professionals in working organizations are advised to focus on preventive measures (e.g. to invest in the professional development of their employees, that is focus on employability enhancement, in order to reduce job insecurity) as well as on participation-based interventions.
The current study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of
the abbreviated version of t... more The current study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of the abbreviated version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire, also known as the SNAQ (Short Negative Acts Questionnaire). A Latent Class analysis of 7,790 observation from 38 Belgian organizations demonstrated that four latent classes of respondents can be distinguished in our data: ´not bullied`, ´work-related criticism´, ´occasionally bullied´, and ´severe targets´. Like with the original full version, both occasionally bullied and the severe targets align with the theoretical definition of workplace bullying as exposure to repeated and systematic negative behavior. The extent to which these clusters report bullying does not only account for their difference, yet also the type of behavior sets the two categories apart. Whereas severe targets had a high probability to report social isolation, this type of social behaviors was more likely to be absent among the occasionally bullied group. The results from the HSD post-hoc test demonstrated that both occasionally bullied and severe targets experienced deteriorating health, more sickness absenteeism and lower for job satisfaction than the two other latent class clusters. Hence, the SNAQ seems to be a psychometrically sound and easy to use instrument to identify targets exposed to varying degrees of workplace bullying.
In this paper, we tackle an important but unresolved research question: How distinct are workplac... more In this paper, we tackle an important but unresolved research question: How distinct are workplace conflict, aggression and bullying? We study this question by means of latent class (LC) analysis using cross-industry data from 6,175 Belgian workers. We find a two-factor solution (conflict-aggression versus bullying) to provide the best fit to the data. Employees with low exposure to conflict-aggression and bullying perceived the phenomena as mostly overlapping. Employees who were exposed more frequently to the phenomena reported them to be more distinct-especially so for workplace bullying. We also find conflict-aggression and bullying to have distinct relationships with well-being and strain outcomes. These findings entail that a simple unifying approach or a single label for all three phenomena is not appropriate, at least from a measurement point of view and from the perspective of those exposed. Our results have important implications for the theoretical understanding of conflict, aggression and bullying, and for practitioners who provide support to affected employees including policymakers who help prevent and manage these problems at the workplace.
Gaming disorder is not yet recognized as a formal psychiatric disorder, and consensus is still la... more Gaming disorder is not yet recognized as a formal psychiatric disorder, and consensus is still lacking in the field concerning the definition of gaming disorder and what methods should be used to measure it. In order to deal with methodological challenges related to previously suggested approaches, the aim of the present study was to develop an alternative assessment procedure for gaming disorder using a latent class cluster approach, and to compare the criterion validity of this procedure with existing assessment procedures. A representative sample of 3,000 adolescents (n = 1,500 female) aged 17.5 years was drawn from the National Registry, and 2,055 participants responded (yielding a response rate of 70.3%). The Gaming Addiction Scale for Adolescents was used to measure gaming disorder and measures of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and aggression were used to test criterion validity. A model with five Latent Class Clusters represented the best fit [BIC(LL) = 21,253,7; L 2 = 3,881,204; df = 1,978; Class. Err. = 0.1239]. The five different groups were labeled never symptoms (46.2%), rarely symptoms (22.3%), occasionally symptoms (23.5%), problem gamers (6.9%), and disordered gamers (1.2%). The groups displayed different probabilities of responses (never/rarely/sometimes/often/very often) to the seven Gaming Addiction Scale items. Regarding criterion validity, MANOVA revealed a significant overall main effect of latent classes [F (20,6359) = 13.50, p < 0.001; Wilks Lambda = 0.871]. All dependent variables (loneliness, depression, anxiety, verbal, and physical aggression) reached statistical significance when results from the dependent variables were considered separately. Comparing the present approach with previous suggested classifications of gaming addiction offered by Lemmens et al. and Charlton and Danforth, the present approach showed greater specificity in terms of number of classes identified. We conclude that the Latent Class approach identifying five different groups of gamers offers a more refined view on addiction compared to previous assessment procedures.
Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relat... more Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relationship conflict. Prior research has identified a set of interpersonal factors (e.g., team communication, team trust) that help attenuate this association. The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative perspective that focuses on the moderating role of performance-related factors (i.e., perceived team performance). Using social identity theory, we build a model that predicts how task conflict associates with growth in relationship conflict and how perceived team performance influences this association. We test a three-wave longitudinal model by means of random coefficient growth modeling, using data from 60 ongoing teams working in a health care organization. Results provide partial support for our hypotheses. Only when perceived team performance is low, do task conflicts relate with growth in relationship conflict. We conclude that perceived team performance seems to enable teams to uncouple task from relationship conflict.
We examined psychopathology and personality characteristics among 62 pathological gamblers (49 me... more We examined psychopathology and personality characteristics among 62 pathological gamblers (49 men and 13 women; mean age 37.8 years), measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). The mean MMPI-2 profile of the present sample of gamblers was characterized by elevated scores on depression and psychasthenia (anxiety/tension). Latent class analysis revealed 3 separate latent clusters: one with MMPI-2 profiles within the normal range, one with a moderately elevated profile, and one with elevations on most of the clinical scales. We conclude that pathological gamblers are a heterogeneous group with differentdegrees of pathology and personality configurations; thus, one cannot talk about a general "gambler personality" as such. Interventions for pathological gamblers should therefore take into consideration the pattern and the level of psychopathology of the patients.
Although workplace violence and aggression have been identified as important stressors in the nur... more Although workplace violence and aggression have been identified as important stressors in the nursing profession, studies simultaneously comparing patient-initiated aggression and exposure to bullying behaviors at work are rather scarce. The aim of this study was to compare aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors in terms of prevalence, health-related quality of life outcomes, and potential overlap in those targeted. In the period of 2008-2009, data were collected among 2059 members of the Norwegian Nurses Organization. Latent class (LC) analysis and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the proposed relationships. The results showed that aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors were perceived as separate and independent stressors. Although aggression from patients or next of kin was more frequent than workplace bullying, the latter was the only significant stressor related to health-related quality of life in terms of reduced mental health functioning. Although being a rather infrequent experience, exposure to bullying behaviors seems to have more severe health-related outcomes for nurses than aggression from patients or next of kin. Hence, the results of the study strengthen previous findings and suggest that managers must aim to maintain a positive psychosocial work environment with zero-tolerance for bullying.
International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 2008
Research has suggested the importance of applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection proced... more Research has suggested the importance of applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection procedures in predicting how applicants react to selection procedures. Validated measures of selection expectations are still scarce, however. This study reports on the validation of the Applicant Expectation Survey (AES), intended to measure applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection procedures. The AES was validated using three military applicant samples and showed sound psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, measurement invariance, discriminant validity) for a five-factorial oblique structure consisting of 26 items. The five factors (i.e., Warmth/respect, Chance to demonstrate potential, Difficulty of faking, Unbiased assessment, Feedback) were positively related to several organizational outcome measures and to applicants' perceptions of the selection procedure, providing evidence for the predictive validity of the AES.
This study examined longitudinal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and wor... more This study examined longitudinal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. On the basis of Conservation of Resources theory, we hypothesized that job resources, personal resources, and work engagement are reciprocal over time. The study was conducted among 163 employees, who were followed-up over a period of 18 months on average. Results of structural equation modeling analyses supported our hypotheses. Specifically, we found that T1 job and personal resources related positively to T2 work engagement. Additionally, T1 work engagement related positively to T2 job and personal resources. The model that fit best was the reciprocal model, which showed that not only resources and work engagement but also job and personal resources were mutually related. These findings support the assumption of Conservation of Resources theory that various types of resources and well-being evolve into a cycle that determines employees' successful adaptation to their work environments.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a moderated mediation model of innovative w... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a moderated mediation model of innovative work behaviour enhancement. Perceived firm (organizational and market) performance was assumed to moderate the relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), on the one hand, and employability, on the other hand. In a preciously validated human resources management (HRM) model, employability appeared to be a full mediator in the relationship between LMX and OCB, and innovative work behaviour, being the outcome measure. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a sample of 487 pairs of employees and their immediate supervisors working in 151 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to confirm the factor structure of the baseline model variables, including LMX, OCB, employability, and innovative work behaviour. The moderating effect of firm performance was tested using multi-group SEM. Findings – Results indicated that firm performance had a substantial influence on the baseline model's relationships. More specifically, firm performance appeared to moderate partially a mediation model wherein LMX was assumed to be associated with innovative work behaviour, through employability, being the mediator. Moreover, firm performance also appeared to moderate conclusively a model with employability as a mediator in the relationship between OCB and innovative work behaviour. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the very first study that investigates a mediation model of innovative work behaviour enhancement moderated by firm performance. It appears that high-vs low-performance firms present very different organizational environments for an employee to work in. Obviously, these situational factors affect workers' employability. This study adds particular knowledge to the scholarly literature in this field since not much is known about the science and practice of HRM within SMEs.
This study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention for handling interpersonal conflicts at w... more This study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention for handling interpersonal conflicts at work. In contrast to the mainstream approach in the health care industry, which focuses on developing formal systems of conflict resolution, our intervention consisted of enhancing health care workers’ conflict management skills through training. A pre- and post-test nonequivalent comparison group design was used (intervention group = 258 workers; comparison group = 243 workers). Participants perceived that the training was successful in reducing the number and intensity of conflicts with co-workers, patients, and patients’ relatives. Moreover, organizational indicators calculated on the basis of data obtained from human resources (HR) records show that the intervention was effective, insofar as the number of requests for third-party interventions to mediate conflicts at work, the number of patients’ complaints, and the level of absenteeism all decreased for trained workers, whereas workers from the comparison group exhibited no corresponding changes over time. In the light of these results, this article discusses the design of conflict management measures which could help improve both employees’ well-being and organizational productivity.
Objectives. We examined whether victimization from bullying is related to an increased risk of su... more Objectives. We examined whether victimization from bullying is related to an increased risk of suicidal ideation over time and whether suicidal ideation is related to subsequent bullying. Methods.In a longitudinal study(2005–2010), we used well-established singleitem measures to assess victimization from bullying and suicidal ideation. We used latent Markov models to determine forward and reverse relationships between variables at 3 time points with 2 or 3 years between the measurement points among a randomized nationwide sample of 1846 employees in Norway. Results. Victimization from bullying was associated with subsequent suicidal ideation (oddsratio=2.05;95% confidenceinterval=1.08,3.89).Suicidal ideation at baseline was not related to subsequent victimization from workplace bullying. Conclusions. Workplace bullying may be a precursor to suicidal ideation, whereas suicidal ideation seems to have no impact on subsequent risk of being bullied. Regulations against bullying should be integrated into work-related legislation and public health policies. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 17, 2015: e1–e6. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302855
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transformational leaders... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and a transactional leadership component (management by exception-active), and fulfillment of the basic needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. Design/ ...
Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, 2019
This chapter presents an overview of workplace bullying and cyberbullying scales
currently used i... more This chapter presents an overview of workplace bullying and cyberbullying scales currently used in quantitative research and highlights their characteristics, main strengths and weaknesses. Using well-defined inclusion (i.e. reported in the international scientific literature, validated or based on validated scales, and availability of items) and exclusion criteria (i.e. reported in unpublished manuscripts, reviews, guidelines, commentaries, abstracts and conference proceedings), a total of 47 validated scales on workplace bullying and cyberbullying were examined. These scales were developed to tap workplace (cyber)bullying (a) from the target’s perspective, (b) from the actor’s perspective, (c) within specific professional and occupational contexts and (d) within different geographical and cultural contexts (i. e. adaptations of the most widely used workplace bullying scale—the Negative Acts Questionnaire, NAQ). A first important conclusion from our review is that research has used great heterogeneity in quantitative scales measuring the problem which, although could be valuable in specific contexts, challenges the comparability of the results. Alternatively, we see some dominantly applied scales of which we question ourselves whether these scales are in fact always suitable for assessing (cyber) bullying in a certain context without a thorough validation. A second conclusion is that several scales were developed based on different perspectives on item construction and validity. Therefore, we outline a number of ways to further improve and standardize the methodology applied in designing scales to assess workplace (cyber)bullying (i.e. the need to capture both the state and the process of the phenomenon, scales on bystanders). Finally, this chapter concludes with a call for more tightly controlled and methodologically sophisticated studies, paying greater attention to being sensitive and careful in the inference of causality.
Previous research shows that work environment factors are important antecedents of workplace bull... more Previous research shows that work environment factors are important antecedents of workplace bullying (WB), because of the stress they may induce. While previous studies have typically used Karasek's Job Demand-Control model or the Demands-Resources model, the present study investigates whether another important occupational stress model, that is the Effort-Reward Imbalance model, is also associated to WB. A survey study in 19 Belgian organizations (n = 5727) confirmed that employees experiencing an imbalance between efforts and reward were more likely to be targets of exposure to bullying. In line with previous research, this study illustrates that stressful situations increase the risk of exposure to WB. It shows that the perceived incongruence between effort and reward may increase employee vulnerability to bullying. The perceived injustice may lead employees to engage in norm-breaking behavior and also signal low social standing to others, thereby potentially eliciting negative behaviors from others.
Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, 2019
In this chapter, we scrutinize the construct validity of quantitative empirical research
on workp... more In this chapter, we scrutinize the construct validity of quantitative empirical research on workplace bullying and harassment during the last 5 years.We aim to respond to the question to what degree inferences can be legitimately made from the operationalizations in workplace bullying and harassment studies to the theoretical constructs on which those operationalizations were based. After carefully studying common definitions of workplace bullying and harassment, we found that scholars are largely in agreement (up to 90%) about two definitional issues: bullying is repeated and systematic negative social behaviour that endures over a longer period of time. In the light of these two definitional characteristics, we found that construct validity in this scholarly field is largely threatened in quantitative studies. Therefore, to improve the construct validity, we suggest some strategies. For researchers using behavioural inventories, we firstly recommend employing better-informed research designs and, in particular, sampling strategies. Researchers must sample enough targets or victims of bullying to be able to profoundly go into the discourse of bullying. Secondly, we advise these researchers to categorize their focal study variable to increase its construct validity. Researchers who use primarily the selflabelling approach are appealed to use definitions that operationalize, in a similar or equivalent way, the two fundamental features explained above that are shared by an overwhelming majority of bullying definitions. In addition, we invite researchers to use equivalent response sets. Finally, we call researchers to move away from a definitionalist view on construct validity by embracing a more relationalist view on workplace bullying and harassment, enabling them to investigate the issue of construct validity in relation to neighbouring or related concepts such as workplace incivility, counterproductive workplace behaviour, abusive supervision, workplace aggression and conflicts.
Background: Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor
at work. However, in the Spa... more Background: Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor at work. However, in the Spanish context, there is a lack of measures that allow researchers and practitioners to distinguish between non-targets and targets of workplace bullying. Method: This study reports the psychometric properties, factor structure, and cutoff scores for the Short- Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) in a Spanish sample (N = 1,409). Results: The S-NAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Moreover, both Exploratory and Confi rmatory Factor Analysis revealed that a unifactorial model of workplace bullying fi t the data best. Two cutoff points for the S-NAQ were formulated using receiver operating characteristic curves to categorize respondents as “not exposed to workplace bullying” (scores below 15), “at risk of being bullied” (scores between 15 and 22), and “targets of workplace bullying” (scores above 22). Conclusions: These cutoff scores may help researchers and practitioners in diagnosing workplace bullying and designing intervention strategies. Keywords: Workplace bullying, mobbing, cutoff scores, thresholds, ROC curve, prevalence.
Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 2018
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which emotional experiences media... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which emotional experiences mediate the relationships between employees’ perception of considerate and/or tyrannical leadership behaviors and their work engagement and intention to leave the organization. The notion of symmetric and asymmetric relationships between specific kinds of leadership behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal outcomes is also examined. Design/methodology/approach – Employing a survey design, the variables were assessed in a cross-sectional sample of 312 employees. Findings – The study confirmed the notion of symmetric relationships between specific kinds of leadership behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal outcomes. Contrary to the general notion that “bad is stronger than good,” the results indicated that positive emotions were equal or stronger mediators than the negative ones regarding the two outcomes measured in the present study. Originality/value – The paper is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first paper which examines simultaneously how constructive and destructive leadership styles, and positive and negative affects, are related to employee attitudes outcomes, and evokes a discussion when bad is stronger than good or vice versa regarding leadership outcomes.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible role of job insecurity climate as ... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible role of job insecurity climate as a moderator in the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire data were collected from 466 employees working in 14 organizations from both the private and public sector. Following the core tenets of social exchange theory and occupational stress theories, the authors argue that ideally job insecurity is studied as a climate-level construct, given the fact that intra-group social exchange processes strongly influence the formation of employee perceptions about specific aspects of their work context (e.g. job insecurity). Findings – In line with one of the hypotheses, multi-level analyses revealed that LMX is significantly and positively related to OCBs. In addition, the authors found support for a negative moderation effect, such that LMX has a less strongly positive relationship with extra-role behaviors that are beneficial to the organization when job insecurity climate is high. Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited empirical scholarly research on job insecurity climate and its correlates. Management and HR professionals in working organizations are advised to focus on preventive measures (e.g. to invest in the professional development of their employees, that is focus on employability enhancement, in order to reduce job insecurity) as well as on participation-based interventions.
The current study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of
the abbreviated version of t... more The current study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of the abbreviated version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire, also known as the SNAQ (Short Negative Acts Questionnaire). A Latent Class analysis of 7,790 observation from 38 Belgian organizations demonstrated that four latent classes of respondents can be distinguished in our data: ´not bullied`, ´work-related criticism´, ´occasionally bullied´, and ´severe targets´. Like with the original full version, both occasionally bullied and the severe targets align with the theoretical definition of workplace bullying as exposure to repeated and systematic negative behavior. The extent to which these clusters report bullying does not only account for their difference, yet also the type of behavior sets the two categories apart. Whereas severe targets had a high probability to report social isolation, this type of social behaviors was more likely to be absent among the occasionally bullied group. The results from the HSD post-hoc test demonstrated that both occasionally bullied and severe targets experienced deteriorating health, more sickness absenteeism and lower for job satisfaction than the two other latent class clusters. Hence, the SNAQ seems to be a psychometrically sound and easy to use instrument to identify targets exposed to varying degrees of workplace bullying.
In this paper, we tackle an important but unresolved research question: How distinct are workplac... more In this paper, we tackle an important but unresolved research question: How distinct are workplace conflict, aggression and bullying? We study this question by means of latent class (LC) analysis using cross-industry data from 6,175 Belgian workers. We find a two-factor solution (conflict-aggression versus bullying) to provide the best fit to the data. Employees with low exposure to conflict-aggression and bullying perceived the phenomena as mostly overlapping. Employees who were exposed more frequently to the phenomena reported them to be more distinct-especially so for workplace bullying. We also find conflict-aggression and bullying to have distinct relationships with well-being and strain outcomes. These findings entail that a simple unifying approach or a single label for all three phenomena is not appropriate, at least from a measurement point of view and from the perspective of those exposed. Our results have important implications for the theoretical understanding of conflict, aggression and bullying, and for practitioners who provide support to affected employees including policymakers who help prevent and manage these problems at the workplace.
Gaming disorder is not yet recognized as a formal psychiatric disorder, and consensus is still la... more Gaming disorder is not yet recognized as a formal psychiatric disorder, and consensus is still lacking in the field concerning the definition of gaming disorder and what methods should be used to measure it. In order to deal with methodological challenges related to previously suggested approaches, the aim of the present study was to develop an alternative assessment procedure for gaming disorder using a latent class cluster approach, and to compare the criterion validity of this procedure with existing assessment procedures. A representative sample of 3,000 adolescents (n = 1,500 female) aged 17.5 years was drawn from the National Registry, and 2,055 participants responded (yielding a response rate of 70.3%). The Gaming Addiction Scale for Adolescents was used to measure gaming disorder and measures of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and aggression were used to test criterion validity. A model with five Latent Class Clusters represented the best fit [BIC(LL) = 21,253,7; L 2 = 3,881,204; df = 1,978; Class. Err. = 0.1239]. The five different groups were labeled never symptoms (46.2%), rarely symptoms (22.3%), occasionally symptoms (23.5%), problem gamers (6.9%), and disordered gamers (1.2%). The groups displayed different probabilities of responses (never/rarely/sometimes/often/very often) to the seven Gaming Addiction Scale items. Regarding criterion validity, MANOVA revealed a significant overall main effect of latent classes [F (20,6359) = 13.50, p < 0.001; Wilks Lambda = 0.871]. All dependent variables (loneliness, depression, anxiety, verbal, and physical aggression) reached statistical significance when results from the dependent variables were considered separately. Comparing the present approach with previous suggested classifications of gaming addiction offered by Lemmens et al. and Charlton and Danforth, the present approach showed greater specificity in terms of number of classes identified. We conclude that the Latent Class approach identifying five different groups of gamers offers a more refined view on addiction compared to previous assessment procedures.
Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relat... more Although potentially beneficial, task conflict may threaten teams because it often leads to relationship conflict. Prior research has identified a set of interpersonal factors (e.g., team communication, team trust) that help attenuate this association. The purpose of this article is to provide an alternative perspective that focuses on the moderating role of performance-related factors (i.e., perceived team performance). Using social identity theory, we build a model that predicts how task conflict associates with growth in relationship conflict and how perceived team performance influences this association. We test a three-wave longitudinal model by means of random coefficient growth modeling, using data from 60 ongoing teams working in a health care organization. Results provide partial support for our hypotheses. Only when perceived team performance is low, do task conflicts relate with growth in relationship conflict. We conclude that perceived team performance seems to enable teams to uncouple task from relationship conflict.
We examined psychopathology and personality characteristics among 62 pathological gamblers (49 me... more We examined psychopathology and personality characteristics among 62 pathological gamblers (49 men and 13 women; mean age 37.8 years), measured by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). The mean MMPI-2 profile of the present sample of gamblers was characterized by elevated scores on depression and psychasthenia (anxiety/tension). Latent class analysis revealed 3 separate latent clusters: one with MMPI-2 profiles within the normal range, one with a moderately elevated profile, and one with elevations on most of the clinical scales. We conclude that pathological gamblers are a heterogeneous group with differentdegrees of pathology and personality configurations; thus, one cannot talk about a general "gambler personality" as such. Interventions for pathological gamblers should therefore take into consideration the pattern and the level of psychopathology of the patients.
Although workplace violence and aggression have been identified as important stressors in the nur... more Although workplace violence and aggression have been identified as important stressors in the nursing profession, studies simultaneously comparing patient-initiated aggression and exposure to bullying behaviors at work are rather scarce. The aim of this study was to compare aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors in terms of prevalence, health-related quality of life outcomes, and potential overlap in those targeted. In the period of 2008-2009, data were collected among 2059 members of the Norwegian Nurses Organization. Latent class (LC) analysis and a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the proposed relationships. The results showed that aggression from patients or next of kin and exposure to bullying behaviors were perceived as separate and independent stressors. Although aggression from patients or next of kin was more frequent than workplace bullying, the latter was the only significant stressor related to health-related quality of life in terms of reduced mental health functioning. Although being a rather infrequent experience, exposure to bullying behaviors seems to have more severe health-related outcomes for nurses than aggression from patients or next of kin. Hence, the results of the study strengthen previous findings and suggest that managers must aim to maintain a positive psychosocial work environment with zero-tolerance for bullying.
International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 2008
Research has suggested the importance of applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection proced... more Research has suggested the importance of applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection procedures in predicting how applicants react to selection procedures. Validated measures of selection expectations are still scarce, however. This study reports on the validation of the Applicant Expectation Survey (AES), intended to measure applicants' expectations of forthcoming selection procedures. The AES was validated using three military applicant samples and showed sound psychometric properties (i.e., reliability, measurement invariance, discriminant validity) for a five-factorial oblique structure consisting of 26 items. The five factors (i.e., Warmth/respect, Chance to demonstrate potential, Difficulty of faking, Unbiased assessment, Feedback) were positively related to several organizational outcome measures and to applicants' perceptions of the selection procedure, providing evidence for the predictive validity of the AES.
This study examined longitudinal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and wor... more This study examined longitudinal relationships between job resources, personal resources, and work engagement. On the basis of Conservation of Resources theory, we hypothesized that job resources, personal resources, and work engagement are reciprocal over time. The study was conducted among 163 employees, who were followed-up over a period of 18 months on average. Results of structural equation modeling analyses supported our hypotheses. Specifically, we found that T1 job and personal resources related positively to T2 work engagement. Additionally, T1 work engagement related positively to T2 job and personal resources. The model that fit best was the reciprocal model, which showed that not only resources and work engagement but also job and personal resources were mutually related. These findings support the assumption of Conservation of Resources theory that various types of resources and well-being evolve into a cycle that determines employees' successful adaptation to their work environments.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a moderated mediation model of innovative w... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a moderated mediation model of innovative work behaviour enhancement. Perceived firm (organizational and market) performance was assumed to moderate the relationships between leader-member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB), on the one hand, and employability, on the other hand. In a preciously validated human resources management (HRM) model, employability appeared to be a full mediator in the relationship between LMX and OCB, and innovative work behaviour, being the outcome measure. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from a sample of 487 pairs of employees and their immediate supervisors working in 151 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to confirm the factor structure of the baseline model variables, including LMX, OCB, employability, and innovative work behaviour. The moderating effect of firm performance was tested using multi-group SEM. Findings – Results indicated that firm performance had a substantial influence on the baseline model's relationships. More specifically, firm performance appeared to moderate partially a mediation model wherein LMX was assumed to be associated with innovative work behaviour, through employability, being the mediator. Moreover, firm performance also appeared to moderate conclusively a model with employability as a mediator in the relationship between OCB and innovative work behaviour. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is the very first study that investigates a mediation model of innovative work behaviour enhancement moderated by firm performance. It appears that high-vs low-performance firms present very different organizational environments for an employee to work in. Obviously, these situational factors affect workers' employability. This study adds particular knowledge to the scholarly literature in this field since not much is known about the science and practice of HRM within SMEs.
This study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention for handling interpersonal conflicts at w... more This study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention for handling interpersonal conflicts at work. In contrast to the mainstream approach in the health care industry, which focuses on developing formal systems of conflict resolution, our intervention consisted of enhancing health care workers’ conflict management skills through training. A pre- and post-test nonequivalent comparison group design was used (intervention group = 258 workers; comparison group = 243 workers). Participants perceived that the training was successful in reducing the number and intensity of conflicts with co-workers, patients, and patients’ relatives. Moreover, organizational indicators calculated on the basis of data obtained from human resources (HR) records show that the intervention was effective, insofar as the number of requests for third-party interventions to mediate conflicts at work, the number of patients’ complaints, and the level of absenteeism all decreased for trained workers, whereas workers from the comparison group exhibited no corresponding changes over time. In the light of these results, this article discusses the design of conflict management measures which could help improve both employees’ well-being and organizational productivity.
Objectives. We examined whether victimization from bullying is related to an increased risk of su... more Objectives. We examined whether victimization from bullying is related to an increased risk of suicidal ideation over time and whether suicidal ideation is related to subsequent bullying. Methods.In a longitudinal study(2005–2010), we used well-established singleitem measures to assess victimization from bullying and suicidal ideation. We used latent Markov models to determine forward and reverse relationships between variables at 3 time points with 2 or 3 years between the measurement points among a randomized nationwide sample of 1846 employees in Norway. Results. Victimization from bullying was associated with subsequent suicidal ideation (oddsratio=2.05;95% confidenceinterval=1.08,3.89).Suicidal ideation at baseline was not related to subsequent victimization from workplace bullying. Conclusions. Workplace bullying may be a precursor to suicidal ideation, whereas suicidal ideation seems to have no impact on subsequent risk of being bullied. Regulations against bullying should be integrated into work-related legislation and public health policies. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 17, 2015: e1–e6. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302855
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transformational leaders... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and a transactional leadership component (management by exception-active), and fulfillment of the basic needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness. Design/ ...
Monstarecon verzamelde sinds 2008 gegevens bij 111.000 werknemers in bijna 500 organisaties in Be... more Monstarecon verzamelde sinds 2008 gegevens bij 111.000 werknemers in bijna 500 organisaties in België over stress op het werk, welzijn op werk, ongewenste seksuele intimidatie op het werk op het werk en gezondheid. Naar aanleiding van de #MeToo-campagne analyseerde Monstarecon haar gegevens (n=74.604) over ongewenst seksueel gedrag op het werk oftewel ongewenste seksuele intimidatie op het werk. Nu het stof wat is gaan liggen, is het goed om deze gegevens verder uit te spitten.
Monstarecon verzamelde sinds 2008 gegevens bij 111.000 werknemers in bijna 500 organisaties in Be... more Monstarecon verzamelde sinds 2008 gegevens bij 111.000 werknemers in bijna 500 organisaties in België over stress op het werk, welzijn op werk, ongewenste seksuele intimidatie op het werk op het werk en gezondheid. Naar aanleiding van de #MeToo-campagne analyseerde Monstarecon haar gegevens (n=74.604) over ongewenst seksueel gedrag op het werk oftewel ongewenste seksuele intimidatie op het werk. Nu het stof wat is gaan liggen, is het goed om deze gegevens verder uit te spitten.
Background: Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor at work. However, in the Spa... more Background: Workplace bullying is considered a major social stressor at work. However, in the Spanish context, there is a lack of measures that allow researchers and practitioners to distinguish between non-targets and targets of workplace bullying. Method: This study reports the psychometric properties, factor structure, and cutoff scores for the Short-Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) in a Spanish sample (N= 1,409). Results: The S-NAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties. Moreover, both Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis revealed that a unifactorial model of workplace bullying fit the data best. Two cutoff points for the S-NAQ were formulated using receiver operating characteristic curves to categorize respondents as “not exposed to workplace bullying”(scores below 15),“at risk of being bullied”(scores between 15 and 22), and “targets of workplace bullying”(scores above 22). Conclusions: These cutoff scores may help researchers and practitioners in diagnosing workplace bullying and designing intervention strategies.
Uploads
Papers by Guy Notelaers
currently used in quantitative research and highlights their characteristics, main
strengths and weaknesses. Using well-defined inclusion (i.e. reported in the international
scientific literature, validated or based on validated scales, and availability
of items) and exclusion criteria (i.e. reported in unpublished manuscripts, reviews,
guidelines, commentaries, abstracts and conference proceedings), a total of 47
validated scales on workplace bullying and cyberbullying were examined. These
scales were developed to tap workplace (cyber)bullying (a) from the target’s
perspective, (b) from the actor’s perspective, (c) within specific professional and
occupational contexts and (d) within different geographical and cultural contexts (i.
e. adaptations of the most widely used workplace bullying scale—the Negative Acts
Questionnaire, NAQ). A first important conclusion from our review is that research
has used great heterogeneity in quantitative scales measuring the problem which,
although could be valuable in specific contexts, challenges the comparability of the
results. Alternatively, we see some dominantly applied scales of which we question
ourselves whether these scales are in fact always suitable for assessing (cyber)
bullying in a certain context without a thorough validation. A second conclusion is
that several scales were developed based on different perspectives on item construction
and validity. Therefore, we outline a number of ways to further improve
and standardize the methodology applied in designing scales to assess workplace
(cyber)bullying (i.e. the need to capture both the state and the process of the
phenomenon, scales on bystanders). Finally, this chapter concludes with a call for
more tightly controlled and methodologically sophisticated studies, paying greater
attention to being sensitive and careful in the inference of causality.
on workplace bullying and harassment during the last 5 years.We aim to respond to
the question to what degree inferences can be legitimately made from the operationalizations
in workplace bullying and harassment studies to the theoretical constructs
on which those operationalizations were based. After carefully studying
common definitions of workplace bullying and harassment, we found that scholars
are largely in agreement (up to 90%) about two definitional issues: bullying is
repeated and systematic negative social behaviour that endures over a longer period
of time. In the light of these two definitional characteristics, we found that construct
validity in this scholarly field is largely threatened in quantitative studies. Therefore,
to improve the construct validity, we suggest some strategies. For researchers using
behavioural inventories, we firstly recommend employing better-informed research
designs and, in particular, sampling strategies. Researchers must sample enough
targets or victims of bullying to be able to profoundly go into the discourse of
bullying. Secondly, we advise these researchers to categorize their focal study
variable to increase its construct validity. Researchers who use primarily the selflabelling
approach are appealed to use definitions that operationalize, in a similar or
equivalent way, the two fundamental features explained above that are shared by an
overwhelming majority of bullying definitions. In addition, we invite researchers to
use equivalent response sets. Finally, we call researchers to move away from a
definitionalist view on construct validity by embracing a more relationalist view on
workplace bullying and harassment, enabling them to investigate the issue of
construct validity in relation to neighbouring or related concepts such as workplace
incivility, counterproductive workplace behaviour, abusive supervision, workplace
aggression and conflicts.
at work. However, in the Spanish context, there is a lack of measures that
allow researchers and practitioners to distinguish between non-targets
and targets of workplace bullying. Method: This study reports the
psychometric properties, factor structure, and cutoff scores for the Short-
Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) in a Spanish sample (N = 1,409).
Results: The S-NAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties.
Moreover, both Exploratory and Confi rmatory Factor Analysis revealed
that a unifactorial model of workplace bullying fi t the data best. Two
cutoff points for the S-NAQ were formulated using receiver operating
characteristic curves to categorize respondents as “not exposed to
workplace bullying” (scores below 15), “at risk of being bullied” (scores
between 15 and 22), and “targets of workplace bullying” (scores above 22).
Conclusions: These cutoff scores may help researchers and practitioners
in diagnosing workplace bullying and designing intervention strategies.
Keywords: Workplace bullying, mobbing, cutoff scores, thresholds, ROC
curve, prevalence.
relationships between employees’ perception of considerate and/or tyrannical leadership behaviors and their
work engagement and intention to leave the organization. The notion of symmetric and asymmetric
relationships between specific kinds of leadership behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal
outcomes is also examined.
Design/methodology/approach – Employing a survey design, the variables were assessed in a
cross-sectional sample of 312 employees.
Findings – The study confirmed the notion of symmetric relationships between specific kinds of leadership
behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal outcomes. Contrary to the general notion that “bad is
stronger than good,” the results indicated that positive emotions were equal or stronger mediators than the
negative ones regarding the two outcomes measured in the present study.
Originality/value – The paper is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first paper which examines simultaneously
how constructive and destructive leadership styles, and positive and negative affects, are related to employee
attitudes outcomes, and evokes a discussion when bad is stronger than good or vice versa regarding
leadership outcomes.
in the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs).
Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire data were collected from 466 employees working in 14
organizations from both the private and public sector. Following the core tenets of social exchange theory and
occupational stress theories, the authors argue that ideally job insecurity is studied as a climate-level
construct, given the fact that intra-group social exchange processes strongly influence the formation of
employee perceptions about specific aspects of their work context (e.g. job insecurity).
Findings – In line with one of the hypotheses, multi-level analyses revealed that LMX is significantly and
positively related to OCBs. In addition, the authors found support for a negative moderation effect, such that
LMX has a less strongly positive relationship with extra-role behaviors that are beneficial to the organization
when job insecurity climate is high.
Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited empirical scholarly research on job insecurity
climate and its correlates. Management and HR professionals in working organizations are advised to focus
on preventive measures (e.g. to invest in the professional development of their employees, that is focus on
employability enhancement, in order to reduce job insecurity) as well as on participation-based interventions.
the abbreviated version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire, also
known as the SNAQ (Short Negative Acts Questionnaire). A Latent
Class analysis of 7,790 observation from 38 Belgian organizations
demonstrated that four latent classes of respondents can be
distinguished in our data: ´not bullied`, ´work-related criticism´,
´occasionally bullied´, and ´severe targets´. Like with the original
full version, both occasionally bullied and the severe targets align
with the theoretical definition of workplace bullying as exposure
to repeated and systematic negative behavior. The extent to
which these clusters report bullying does not only account for
their difference, yet also the type of behavior sets the two
categories apart. Whereas severe targets had a high probability to
report social isolation, this type of social behaviors was more likely
to be absent among the occasionally bullied group. The results
from the HSD post-hoc test demonstrated that both occasionally
bullied and severe targets experienced deteriorating health, more
sickness absenteeism and lower for job satisfaction than the two
other latent class clusters. Hence, the SNAQ seems to be a
psychometrically sound and easy to use instrument to identify
targets exposed to varying degrees of workplace bullying.
currently used in quantitative research and highlights their characteristics, main
strengths and weaknesses. Using well-defined inclusion (i.e. reported in the international
scientific literature, validated or based on validated scales, and availability
of items) and exclusion criteria (i.e. reported in unpublished manuscripts, reviews,
guidelines, commentaries, abstracts and conference proceedings), a total of 47
validated scales on workplace bullying and cyberbullying were examined. These
scales were developed to tap workplace (cyber)bullying (a) from the target’s
perspective, (b) from the actor’s perspective, (c) within specific professional and
occupational contexts and (d) within different geographical and cultural contexts (i.
e. adaptations of the most widely used workplace bullying scale—the Negative Acts
Questionnaire, NAQ). A first important conclusion from our review is that research
has used great heterogeneity in quantitative scales measuring the problem which,
although could be valuable in specific contexts, challenges the comparability of the
results. Alternatively, we see some dominantly applied scales of which we question
ourselves whether these scales are in fact always suitable for assessing (cyber)
bullying in a certain context without a thorough validation. A second conclusion is
that several scales were developed based on different perspectives on item construction
and validity. Therefore, we outline a number of ways to further improve
and standardize the methodology applied in designing scales to assess workplace
(cyber)bullying (i.e. the need to capture both the state and the process of the
phenomenon, scales on bystanders). Finally, this chapter concludes with a call for
more tightly controlled and methodologically sophisticated studies, paying greater
attention to being sensitive and careful in the inference of causality.
on workplace bullying and harassment during the last 5 years.We aim to respond to
the question to what degree inferences can be legitimately made from the operationalizations
in workplace bullying and harassment studies to the theoretical constructs
on which those operationalizations were based. After carefully studying
common definitions of workplace bullying and harassment, we found that scholars
are largely in agreement (up to 90%) about two definitional issues: bullying is
repeated and systematic negative social behaviour that endures over a longer period
of time. In the light of these two definitional characteristics, we found that construct
validity in this scholarly field is largely threatened in quantitative studies. Therefore,
to improve the construct validity, we suggest some strategies. For researchers using
behavioural inventories, we firstly recommend employing better-informed research
designs and, in particular, sampling strategies. Researchers must sample enough
targets or victims of bullying to be able to profoundly go into the discourse of
bullying. Secondly, we advise these researchers to categorize their focal study
variable to increase its construct validity. Researchers who use primarily the selflabelling
approach are appealed to use definitions that operationalize, in a similar or
equivalent way, the two fundamental features explained above that are shared by an
overwhelming majority of bullying definitions. In addition, we invite researchers to
use equivalent response sets. Finally, we call researchers to move away from a
definitionalist view on construct validity by embracing a more relationalist view on
workplace bullying and harassment, enabling them to investigate the issue of
construct validity in relation to neighbouring or related concepts such as workplace
incivility, counterproductive workplace behaviour, abusive supervision, workplace
aggression and conflicts.
at work. However, in the Spanish context, there is a lack of measures that
allow researchers and practitioners to distinguish between non-targets
and targets of workplace bullying. Method: This study reports the
psychometric properties, factor structure, and cutoff scores for the Short-
Negative Acts Questionnaire (S-NAQ) in a Spanish sample (N = 1,409).
Results: The S-NAQ demonstrated adequate psychometric properties.
Moreover, both Exploratory and Confi rmatory Factor Analysis revealed
that a unifactorial model of workplace bullying fi t the data best. Two
cutoff points for the S-NAQ were formulated using receiver operating
characteristic curves to categorize respondents as “not exposed to
workplace bullying” (scores below 15), “at risk of being bullied” (scores
between 15 and 22), and “targets of workplace bullying” (scores above 22).
Conclusions: These cutoff scores may help researchers and practitioners
in diagnosing workplace bullying and designing intervention strategies.
Keywords: Workplace bullying, mobbing, cutoff scores, thresholds, ROC
curve, prevalence.
relationships between employees’ perception of considerate and/or tyrannical leadership behaviors and their
work engagement and intention to leave the organization. The notion of symmetric and asymmetric
relationships between specific kinds of leadership behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal
outcomes is also examined.
Design/methodology/approach – Employing a survey design, the variables were assessed in a
cross-sectional sample of 312 employees.
Findings – The study confirmed the notion of symmetric relationships between specific kinds of leadership
behavior, emotional reactions, and followers’ attitudinal outcomes. Contrary to the general notion that “bad is
stronger than good,” the results indicated that positive emotions were equal or stronger mediators than the
negative ones regarding the two outcomes measured in the present study.
Originality/value – The paper is, to the authors’ knowledge, the first paper which examines simultaneously
how constructive and destructive leadership styles, and positive and negative affects, are related to employee
attitudes outcomes, and evokes a discussion when bad is stronger than good or vice versa regarding
leadership outcomes.
in the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs).
Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire data were collected from 466 employees working in 14
organizations from both the private and public sector. Following the core tenets of social exchange theory and
occupational stress theories, the authors argue that ideally job insecurity is studied as a climate-level
construct, given the fact that intra-group social exchange processes strongly influence the formation of
employee perceptions about specific aspects of their work context (e.g. job insecurity).
Findings – In line with one of the hypotheses, multi-level analyses revealed that LMX is significantly and
positively related to OCBs. In addition, the authors found support for a negative moderation effect, such that
LMX has a less strongly positive relationship with extra-role behaviors that are beneficial to the organization
when job insecurity climate is high.
Originality/value – The study contributes to the limited empirical scholarly research on job insecurity
climate and its correlates. Management and HR professionals in working organizations are advised to focus
on preventive measures (e.g. to invest in the professional development of their employees, that is focus on
employability enhancement, in order to reduce job insecurity) as well as on participation-based interventions.
the abbreviated version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire, also
known as the SNAQ (Short Negative Acts Questionnaire). A Latent
Class analysis of 7,790 observation from 38 Belgian organizations
demonstrated that four latent classes of respondents can be
distinguished in our data: ´not bullied`, ´work-related criticism´,
´occasionally bullied´, and ´severe targets´. Like with the original
full version, both occasionally bullied and the severe targets align
with the theoretical definition of workplace bullying as exposure
to repeated and systematic negative behavior. The extent to
which these clusters report bullying does not only account for
their difference, yet also the type of behavior sets the two
categories apart. Whereas severe targets had a high probability to
report social isolation, this type of social behaviors was more likely
to be absent among the occasionally bullied group. The results
from the HSD post-hoc test demonstrated that both occasionally
bullied and severe targets experienced deteriorating health, more
sickness absenteeism and lower for job satisfaction than the two
other latent class clusters. Hence, the SNAQ seems to be a
psychometrically sound and easy to use instrument to identify
targets exposed to varying degrees of workplace bullying.