Harassment, Bullying and Violence at Work

Citation

Galperin, B.L. (2002), "Harassment, Bullying and Violence at Work", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 173-176. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijm.2002.23.2.173.4

The nature of harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace, and their effects on individuals and organizations are examined in the book. To aid in the reduction of the prevalence of these negative behaviors, the author provides practical advice to help organizations implement necessary changes to create a positive work environment. The use of case studies, learning activities and exercises throughout the book provides the reader with a greater understanding of the relationships between harassment, bullying and violence and identifies possible steps for tackling the widespread problem in the workplace.

The book consists of 11 chapters including an introduction and conclusion. At the end of the book there is also a useful list of organizations that can be contacted to gain further information on harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace. The main body of the book is organized into three parts. The introduction and first five chapters of the book define harassment, bullying and violence, and discuss the factors that play a role in contributing to these dysfunctional workplace behaviors and their impact on individuals and organizations. The introductory chapter stresses the prevalence of harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace in the UK and the USA. A model illustrating the roots of these negative behaviors is also presented. While the model can be used to understand the nature of these issues in the workplace, its discussion is not sufficiently developed and rather limited.

The first two chapters define harassment and discuss different forms of harassment, including racial and sexual harassment. Useful examples of behaviors that constitute harassment are provided and myths on the subject are also explored. The third chapter examines the nature of violence and bullying and provides effective strategies to prevent violence and bullying in the workplace. Although the author acknowledges that employees may be victimized by fellow co‐workers, the discussion focuses on employees who are threatened and attacked by clients or members of the public. The literature on the victimization of employees by fellow co‐workers is not discussed (e.g. Aquino et al., 1999).

Chapter 4 discusses the psychological aspects of the victim/target and perpetrator. Using transactional analysis, a theory that focuses on the existential or “life” positions for which people behave and interact with others, the author explains the interaction between victim/target and perpetrator. Although the author’s use of transactional analysis sheds some light on the relationship between the victim/target and perpetrator, the theoretical frameworks in victimology, such as the victim precipitation model (Curtis, 1974) would have further contributed to our understanding of the psychology of the victim/target and perpetrator.

In Chapter 5, the role of organizational culture and climate in developing a positive work environment is stressed. Based on Hofstede’s (1994) research, the author argues that power distance can play an important role in explaining why harassment and bullying exist in organizations. Given that power distance is a national culture dimension and organizational culture differences are composed of elements that vary from those aspects of national culture differences (Hofstede et al., 1990), the distinction between national culture and organizational culture should have been more explicitly stated in the chapter.

The second half of the text discusses practical actions that organizations can implement to create a positive work environment and the importance of educating the workforce about harassment, bullying and violence. In Chapter 6, the author presents useful steps that organizations must follow to encourage a harassment‐free workplace. Practical guidelines for managing a harassment audit, as well as examples of survey questions are outlined. The current state of the law on harassment and bullying in the UK is discussed in Chapter 7. Although the cases that are cited are primarily from the UK, the author compares the legislation of the UK with that of the USA and discusses the impact of European law on UK legislation.

In order to reduce negative behaviors in the workplace, organizations must comply with legislation as well as proactively create policies and develop procedures to combat harassment, bullying and violence. Chapter 8 outlines in detail the components of an effective harassment policy. For example, the policy should include clear and concise definitions of harassment and bullying, a statement that harassment is a disciplinary offence and the procedures for resolving the issue. The author presents a comprehensive step‐by‐step approach to conducting a harassment investigation in Chapter 9 and details the process of taking a legal action in the UK in Chapter 10.

The implementation of effective policies and procedures is essential in reducing harassment, bullying and violence. Nevertheless, the role of educating the workforce is central in increasing people’s awareness about these issues. When people understand the nature and constitution of harassment, the prevalence of these negative behaviors will likely be reduced. Chapter 11 discusses the role of training and development and possible training methods that can be used to teach employees about harassment, bullying and violence.

In the concluding chapter, the author presents a pragmatic view of tackling workplace harassment, bullying and violence in the future. Specifically, the need to revise current legislation is discussed. In addition, organizations are recommended to adopt a number of strategies, such as constantly evaluating and monitoring the organizational culture and continuously educating the workforce.

The main purpose of this book is to understand the nature of workplace harassment, bullying and violence and to provide a practical guide to reduce these negative behaviors. While the book contributes to our knowledge on dysfunctional workplace behaviors, an elaboration of the theoretical underpinnings of the constructs would have provided the reader with a greater comprehension of these behaviors. For example, the author states that there are a number of reasons why people use bullying behavior and then lists some characteristics that lead people to bully (p. 66). The author, however, does not provide any theoretical justification for including the list of factors. Given that “bullying behavior is a form of aggression” (p. 66), a review of the literature and theories in workplace aggression (e.g. Baron and Neuman, 1996; Chen and Spector, 1992) and other related behaviors, such as workplace deviance (Robinson and Bennett, 1995) would have contributed to our understanding of bullying behavior.

Additionally the author has neglected to mention the sources of information provided throughout the book. For example, the author provides a list of factors that contribute to workplace bullying without any references (p. 70). This indicates that the reader cannot verify whether or not the references are anecdotal or based on rigorous research. The vagueness of the material is classified with statements such as, “research shows” (p. 5) and “findings indicate” (p. 88) leaving the reader confused about the corroboration of the material.

Although the theoretical contribution of this book may be limited, this book can be a useful guide for reducing harassment, bullying and violence in organizations. The book outlines steps to instill a harassment‐free workplace and describes in detail the components of an effective harassment policy. In addition, a comprehensive step‐by‐step approach to conducting a harassment investigation is discussed.

The book is written in a clear and approachable style and is easy to read. Despite its focus on the UK context, it will likely appeal to anyone who is interested in workplace harassment, bullying and violence. Given that the book contains real‐life case studies and symbols in the margin to identify activities and key practical points for individuals and organizations, practitioners will likely find the book to be an effective guide for managing and coping with dysfunctional behaviors. While academics may question its theoretical contribution, this book may be used as a useful manual or teaching guide to supplement the reading material of an MBA course in management.