Person-environment fit as a parsimonious framework to explain workplace bullying

Abstract

Purpose

This study tested whether person-job fit (PJ-fit), person-group fit (PG-fit) and person-organization fit (PO-fit) relate to exposure to and enactment of workplace bullying (WB), mediated by strain and conflict.

Design/methodology/approach

Data from 1,077 employees were analysed using multiple mediator structural equation modelling (Mplus 8.0).

Findings

PJ-fit, PG-fit and PO-fit all related to WB. PG-fit accounted for most explained variance. PJ-fit, PG-fit and PO-fit related to bullying through strain; only PG-fit also related to bullying through conflict.

Research limitations/implications

PE-fit is valuable to parsimoniously investigate WB's multi-causal nature; and strain and conflict partially explain the associations. Future research may shed more light on the direction of these effects.

Practical implications

So far, scholars assumed that job design prevents WB (work-environment hypothesis). This study revealed that prevention should also focus on the fit between employee and group/organization.

Social implications

WB has high societal costs. The authors introduce a new angle to WB prevention. To counteract WB, practitioners should also look at PJ-fit, PG-fit and PO-fit. This is not only important for recruitment, but also for tenured employees (e.g. because of changes in employees' needs, the job, the group or the organization).

Originality/value

This study was the first to investigate the multi-causal nature of both WB exposure and enactment, by applying the lens of PE-fit, and testing explanatory mechanisms.

Citation

Vandevelde, K., Baillien, E. and Notelaers, G. (2020), "Person-environment fit as a parsimonious framework to explain workplace bullying", Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 35 No. 5, pp. 317-332. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-08-2018-0342