Linkages among workplace negative behavioral incidents

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of the linkages between such negative workplace behaviors as abusive supervision and coworker bullying (CB)/mobbing; also, the study explores the linkages between such negative behaviors and work-life outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use “negative acts,” abusive supervision, and workplace bullying/mobbing and develop work-life outcomes scales to test a data set collected from randomly selected respondents in the Midwest of the USA. The two-stage data collection offsets common method variance.

Findings

The authors find evidence that American supervisors and employees commit negative behavioral acts rarely. However, the data analyses indicate that many significant relationships exist among negative acts, abusive supervision, CB/mobbing, and employee well-being.

Research limitations/implications

Companies are reluctant to allow surveying their employees on the subject of negative acts. Therefore, respondents in this study are a random sample. Many statistically significant interrelationships were detected.

Practical implications

This study will reinvigorate discussion on workplace negative behaviors, bullying, and their effects on employee well-being.

Social implications

Addressing and reducing negative workplace behaviors will reduce employee stress and anxiety and improve the quality of employees’ work and life.

Originality/value

The scales were selected and developed, and the data set was constructed specifically for this study; the interactions of negative acts, abusive supervision, CB and mobbing, and work-life outcomes are tested together in a workplace scenario for the first time.

Citation

Mardanov, I. and Cherry, J. (2018), "Linkages among workplace negative behavioral incidents", Evidence-based HRM, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 221-240. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-01-2018-0006