Bullying Bosses

Bullying Bosses?
Q1) Of the three types of organizational justice, which one does workplace bullying most closely resembles?
Out of the three types of organizational justice, bullying most closely resembles interactional justice in which the individual’s perception of the degree to which he or she is treated with dignity, concern and respect. What one person may see as unfair another may see as perfectly appropriate (Judge, Robbins, 2006).

Q2)What aspects of motivation might workplace bullying reduce? For example, are there likely to be effects on employee’s self efficacy? If so, what might those effects be?
Workplace bullying may reduce an employee’s esteem, safety and security, and self actualization according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Workplace bullying can also affect one’s self efficacy. An employee with low self efficacy, when bullied, can experience a decline in their already low self efficacy which may decrease his/her need for achievement, need for power, and need for affiliation based on McClelland’s theory of needs. There are not too many people, which if they are being bullied would want to achieve a new position, attain power, or even want to belong to such a company where other employee’s are bullies.

Q3) If you were a victim of workplace bullying, what steps would you take to try to reduce its occurrence? What strategies would be most effective? What strategies might be ineffective? What would you do if one of your colleagues was a victim of an abusive supervisor?
If I were a victim of workplace bullying, I would first approach my bully and inform him/her of the inappropriate behavior. If the behavior continued and the bully was not management, then I would go to management and let them know there is a problem. If the bully was a part of management, I would seek help from the special groups in most companies that are dedicated to unfair behavior within the company. If the company had no such group, I would do the opposite of what the bully expects my reaction to be. I think going to the special group would be effective, but if there is no such group then going to management would be the next best thing. Retaliation and confrontation would not be effective strategies. There would be nothing worse than having workplace bullying turn into workplace violence. I would help a colleague who is or was victims of an abusive supervisor seek the necessary help in the most effective manner.

Q4) What factors do you believe contribute to workplace bullying? Are bullies a product of the situation, or are they flawed personalities? What situations and what personality factors might contribute to the presence of bullies?
Insecurity, lack of confidence, and low self esteem are a few factors that could contribute to workplace bullying. Authoritarian personalities are driven by the fear of being weak and summarized them as people with a blind belief in authority and readiness to attack those who are regarded as weak or as socially acceptable as victims. An employee who may be insecure or threatened about loss of his/her position may resort to bullying. Within a negative social climate, low satisfaction with leadership was found to be an organizational feature strongly identified with bullying (O’Moore, Lynch, 2007). An employee with low confidence and low self esteem may find an outlet to deal with these issues by bullying others. Bullies are both products of situation and flawed personalities. Numerous studies have demonstrated that bullying is associated with a negative and stressful working environment (O’Moore, Lynch, 2007).