Understanding the context of workplace health management as it relates to workplace bullying

Citation

(2010), "Understanding the context of workplace health management as it relates to workplace bullying", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 3 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijwhm.2010.35403aaa.003

Understanding the context of workplace health management as it relates to workplace bullying

Article Type:Call for submissions From: International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Volume 3, Issue 1

Guest Editors:Michael J. Sheehan, University of Glamorgan (potentially one or two others to be confirmed)

Issue scope

The International Journal of Workplace Health Management (IJWHM) invites submissions for a special edition on "Understanding the context of workplace health management as it relates to workplace bullying". It is anticipated that the special edition will appear in July 2011.

Workplace health is becoming a major public health issue for employers and all levels of government. Furthermore, workplace health is also gaining momentum at an individual organizational level. Well planned, comprehensive workplace health programs have been shown to be cost-effective, especially when the health promotion programs are targeted and matched to the health problems of the specific employee population. Furthermore, studies have repeatedly demonstrated that workplace health programs not only lower health care and insurance costs, but also decrease absenteeism, and improve performance and productivity.

Similarly, workplace bullying is emerging as a factor impacting on the health of individuals both within and outside the workplace. That is, there are health consequences not only for those who have been bullied, but also those who have witnessed bullying, or for those who have to address the problem, such as counsellors, medical practitioners, lawyers and family members.

The consequences of workplace bullying for the organization include increased absenteeism, decreased performance, lower productivity and decreased commitment to the organization. The effects on individuals include loss of self-confidence, self-esteem and respect, increased intention to leave, and effects on relationships with others. The goal of this special issue is to expand the boundaries of our understanding of workplace bullying as it pertains to workplace health management and to effective programs that will help to address the problem. To that end, we encourage authors to submit papers addressing:

^.The impact of workplace bullying on individual health – to include primary prevention, behaviour modification, attitudes and lifestyle choice, health education, health promotion, and how to motivate people

^.Workplace culture – to include management policies and procedures, communication systems, training and learning opportunities, and work-life balance, and the effect this has on morale and well-being

^.Physical work issues – to include musculoskeletal health/ ergonomics

^.Legislative and policy outcomes – to include the impact of health and safety legislation and occupational health; the effectiveness or otherwise of organizational policies; and the level of compliance within the organization

The above list is meant to provide illustrations and is not exhaustive. Other proposals for relevant papers are encouraged by the Guest Editors. Both empirical and conceptual/theoretical papers will be considered, as will studies that are either quantitative or qualitative. Informal inquiries about the Special Issue can be made toMichael Sheehan, E-mail: msheehan@glam.ac.uk

Manuscripts must be received by June 2010. Manuscripts, which should be clearly labelled as submissions intended for this Special Edition, should be submitted to Michael Sheehan and accord with regular IJWHM guidelines which can be viewed at: http://info.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=ijwhm. All submissions will be anonymously peer reviewed, using the normal IJWHM review criteria while also taking into account the contribution of the paper to extending our understanding of workplace bullying as it pertains to workplace health management.

Proposed timeline

1 Submission by June 20102 First review cycle by August 20103 Second review cycle October 20104 Final paper submission December 2010Publication July 2011