Workplace mobbing and bullying: A consulting psychology perspective and overview.

Mobbing and bullying are forms of abusiveness that are of increasing concerns in the workplace. This special issue overviews various issues and interventions relevant for the practice of consulting psychology. The articles describe theoretical issues including prevalence, definitional clarity, and the influence of individual, work group, and organizational dynamics; they also describe various organizational interventions, including alternative dispute resolution, antimobbing training, and antibullying policy development. These articles and commentaries are intended to inform, provide strategies, and foster discussion of how consulting psychologists can best serve clients and client organizations that are experiencing mobbing and bullying. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preventing workplace mobbing and bullying with effective organizational consultation, policies, and legislation.

Workplace mobbing or workplace bullying has only recently entered the lexicon of the American workplace. Although its impact is devastating to the health and well-being of individuals, organizations also experience its effects in terms of loss of productivity, absenteeism, turnover, legal costs, and negative publicity. Legislation and policy development are 2 key initiatives that, used wisely, can help prevent such mobbing and bullying. Although the United States currently has no legislation addressing workplace abuse, it is anticipated that bullying and mobbing will be the next legislative front for the protection of workers and the improvement of workplace culture. Today, many organizations are working with consultants to develop policies to prevent bulling/mobbing and to foster high-care work environments. A template for developing effective antimobbing/antibullying organizational policies is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mobbing and bullying: The influence of individual, work group, and organizational dynamics on abusive workplace behavior.

Mobbing, bullying, and other abusive behaviors are workplace circumstances that consulting psychologists and other organizational consultants may be asked to address. This article argues that effective consultation requires a comprehensive understanding of how individual, work group, and organizational dynamics influence such workplace abusiveness. A 3-level model (individual, group, and organizational) is presented that provides a framework for assessing, conceptualizing, and planning effective consultation interventions when dealing with workplace abusiveness. A case example illustrates the application of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group approaches to reducing aggression and bullying in school.

This article provides a definition of and introduction to aggression and bullying as it occurs in the school environment. Following an analysis of the extent of the bullying problem in contemporary school systems, the authors present a series of interventions developed to reduce the incidence of aggression and bullying in schools. All of the programs presented have in common the utilization of a group approach, and vary in their orientation from being psychoeducationally based to having a counseling emphasis. Finally, the overall effectiveness of group work for reducing aggression in schools is examined, and based on the findings the authors provide several recommendations for school administrators, counselors, and other mental health professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Workplace bullying: The role of psychosocial work environment factors.

Utilizing reports from both observers and direct targets, the authors examined the role of psychosocial work environment factors in workplace bullying, focusing on the moderating effects of control and support resources against job demands. Our sample was 716 Australian frontline police officers who completed an anonymous mail survey. In a direct test of Job Demand-Control-Support theory, the authors found that increased levels of bullying (as assessed by targets and observers) were associated with potentially high stress situations: as job demands increased and as support and control resources decreased. Also, consistent with previous research, most perpetrators were ranked higher than the target, reflecting the role of power in facilitating bullying. Our research is unique in finding evidence for moderating factors within the psychosocial environment and suggests risk assessment of the work environment as an avenue for bullying prevention. Future research should examine more closely the mechanisms underlying bullying within stressful work environments and the reciprocal effect of witnessing and experiencing bullying on psychosocial working conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Introduction to special issue: The psychology of creativity and innovation in the workplace.

While the study of creativity dates back to the early days of psychology, the application of psychological theories to understand and explain creativity and innovation in the workplace is more recent (Shalley & Zhou, 2008). This recent emergence of interest is a result of the recognition that creativity and innovation are necessary for organizational adaptation and survival. Rapid advancement of technology, globalization, and increased competition have all served as forces that require organizations to adapt and change. Further, organizational creativity and innovation is not limited to product development and R&D (Mumford, Whetzel, & Reiter-Palmon, 1997). Rather, current conceptualizations view creativity and innovation in products as well as work processes, and include a variety of occupations in the organization (Mumford et al., 1997). As expected with a complex phenomenon such as creativity in the workplace, the articles included in this special issue cover the entire range from individual to leadership effects to team creativity. The articles include both theoretical and empirical papers. Empirical studies include lab studies, field studies, as well as a meta-analysis. Articles are organized such that work focusing on the individual is presented first, followed by work that involves situational factors and the larger organizational context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curiosity, compassion, and doubt: The dilemma of the psychologist.

Persons "tend to gravitate to those occupations which fit in with their preferred ways of seeking gratification and minimizing anxiety." Certain elements are common to all psychologists: curiosity, compassion, and doubt. Psychology training programs "should have maximum flexibility so as to facilitate each student's following the program which represents his optimal mix of research and application… . The research psychologist must be more accepting of the practicing psychologist's more direct expression of compassion, perhaps by being less conflicted about his own need to doubt; and, similarly, the practicing psychologist must relinquish the attitude that doubting represents being unfeeling, or even pathological." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring the role of individual differences in the prediction of workplace aggression.

This study investigates the relationship between individual differences and the incidence of workplace aggression in a sample of employees from a transportation company and a public school system. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that measures of trait anger, attribution style, negative affectivity, attitudes toward revenge, self-control, and previous exposure to aggressive cultures accounted for 62% of the variance in the participants' self-reported incidence of workplace aggression. Further research on workplace aggression is advocated, focusing on the role of individual differences and their interactions with organizational and group-level variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reducing the adverse consequences of workplace aggression and violence: The buffering effects of organizational support.

This study examined the buffering effects of 2 types of organizational support--instrumental and informational--on the relationships between workplace violence/aggression and both personal and organizational outcomes. Based on data from 225 employees in a health care setting, a series of moderated multiple regression analyses demonstrated that organizational support moderated the effects of physical violence, vicariously experienced violence, and psychological aggression on emotional well-being, somatic health, and job-related affect, but not on fear of future workplace violence and job neglect. These findings have implications for both research and intervention related to workplace violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Linking care felt to engagement in innovative behaviors in the workplace: The mediating role of psychological conditions.

This study examines the relationships between care felt and engagement in innovative behaviors at work. We posit that when an individual perceives that coworkers care for him or her (i.e., care felt), this cultivates psychological conditions such as safety, meaningfulness, and availability, which result in a higher level of motivation and by implication engagement in innovative behaviors at work. A sample of 218 employees took part in the assessment of the relationship between the psychological conditions linked to care felt (measured at Time 1) and motivation and engagement in innovative behaviors (measured at Time 2). The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicate that care felt is positively linked to psychological conditions. The latter is positively related directly and indirectly (through motivation) to engagement in innovative behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supporting and treating families with children on the autistic spectrum: The unique role of the generalist psychologist.

Research findings indicate that intensive behavior therapy (e.g., applied behavioral analysis, or ABA) represents an effective treatment for autistic spectrum disorders. Unfortunately, children with autism represent an underserved patient population. Parents often make treatment decisions with insufficient information and report problems in establishing and maintaining treatment programs. This practice review asserts that psychologists, including those without professional certification or coursework in ABA, are in a unique position to assist affected children and their families. Psychologists can provide critical information about evidence-based treatment; offer assistance in overcoming barriers to intensive treatment, including personnel selection; and provide ongoing support to family members. Case examples also illustrate how psychologists can help families address specific barriers to intensive treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Merely a pimple on the derrière of an elephant: On becoming players in the world of organizational consulting.

It is argued that the importance of consulting psychology is quite limited in the field of management and organizational consulting. Although there are some advantages to small size, the handicaps for competing in the management and organizational consulting market are also substantial. One way for consulting psychology to compete is to be the 1st to bring to market a compelling human capital strategy. The HC Bridge model is offered as one possible model, and a case presentation is provided to demonstrate the use of one such model, Getting and sustaining a lead in human capital strategy is an effective way for consulting psychologists to become real, rather than self-proclaimed, players in the field of management and organizational consulting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bully Busters abbreviated: Evaluation of a group-based bully intervention and prevention program.

The present study sought to examine the efficacy of an abbreviated version of the Bully Busters program, a psychoeducationally based group intervention and prevention program designed to increase teacher's knowledge and use of bullying intervention skills, as well as teacher self-efficacy in intervening with bullying so as to subsequently effect change in the school climate. Teacher-participants attended seven group sessions designed to provide them with exposure to the didactics of the model, as well as to engage them in active learning, role-playing, and cognitive and emotional processing of their experiences of the impact of bullying behaviors on their teaching efficacy as well as the school climate. Materials and experiences from these groups were then taken to the classroom and implemented with the student-participants vis-à-vis classroom exercises. The findings suggest that an abbreviated group-based version of the Bully Busters program can have positive effect on teacher reports of efficacy in intervening with bullying behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflections of a consulting counseling psychologist: Implications of the principles for education and training at the doctoral and postdoctoral level in consulting psychology for the practice of counseling psychology.

Examines issues related to the "Principles for Education and Training at the Doctoral and Postdoctoral Level in Consulting Psychology/Organizational" (R. L. Lowman et al, Education & Training Committee, see record 2003-04049-003), viewed from the perspective of a counseling psychologist whose primary work role is organizational consultation. The author traces the foundations of counseling psychology as they relate to organizational consulting practice. Comparisons are drawn between unifying themes and roles of counseling psychologists and consulting psychology domains and competencies. Each competency domain is examined with respect to its relative uniqueness or similarity of coverage in counseling psychology training and practice. Issues are raised about the relationship of individual counseling and individual consulting psychology. Suggestions are made about increased inclusion in training of vocational psychology theory, multicultural issues, supervised practicum experience, and role boundary work with respect to consultation and psychotherapy. The Principles are viewed as a resource to counseling psychologists, particularly in defining competencies and training needs related to enhancement of intergroup relations and organizational-wide structural interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of language in training psychologists to work with Hispanic clients.

The increasing number of Spanish and English bilingual and Spanish-dominant clients requesting psychological services creates challenges for practitioners and agencies. Literature regarding the importance of the Spanish language in providing service to Hispanic clients is reviewed. It is argued that services to Spanish-speaking clients are frequently inadequate because of the lack of training in the use of Spanish in professional settings. A model for training psychologists to provide psychological services in Spanish is presented along with recommendations for practitioners who are struggling with the dilemma of providing services in a language other than that of their professional training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of the psychologist in the disability evaluation of emotional and intellectual impairments under the social security act.

"Psychological examinations are frequently required for the evaluation of emotional and intellectual impairments in order to establish the degree of loss of function in workers who apply for disability benefits as well as in adults who are disabled in childhood… . The presence of severe and persistent illness should be associated with objective evidences of regression substantial enough to preclude vocational activity… . Psychological evaluations serve to pinpoint the specific functional capacities of the applicant so as to serve as a basis for the evaluation as well as for rehabilitation." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal abuse from outsiders versus insiders: Comparing frequency, impact on emotional exhaustion, and the role of emotional labor.

Research on aggression from organizational outsiders (customers, clients or patients) has ignored insider-instigated aggression, and has been limited to employees in emotional labor jobs (e.g., social work and customer services). The authors argue that customer-employee interactions have distinct characteristics from organizational insider interactions, and provide two studies to compare the frequency and strain of verbal abuse from customers, supervisors and coworkers. Furthermore, they assess whether customer verbal abuse is only a critical issue for employees in jobs requiring emotional labor, measured with both O*NET job codes and self-reported display rules. With a national random sample of U.S. employees (n = 2446) and a convenience sample of U.S. employees who have customer contact (n = 121), the authors find that verbal abuse from outsiders (1) occurs more frequently than insider verbal abuse, particularly for those with higher emotional labor requirements, and (2) predicts emotional exhaustion over and above insider verbal abuse, regardless of emotional labor requirements. The authors conclude that better integration of customer aggression and insider aggression research is needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviance: The role of affect and cognitions.

To investigate the role of affect and cognitions in predicting organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and workplace deviance behavior (WDB), data were collected from 149 registered nurses and their coworkers. Job affect was associated more strongly than were job cognitions with OCB directed at individuals, whereas job cognitions correlated more strongly than did job affect with OCB directed at the organization. With respect to WDB, job cognitions played a more important role in prediction when job affect was represented by 2 general mood variables (positive and negative affect). When discrete emotions were used to represent job affect, however, job affect played as important a role as job cognition variables, strongly suggesting the importance of considering discrete emotions in job affect research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Commitment in the workplace: Theory, research, and application.

Reviews the book, Commitment in the workplace: Theory, research, and application by John P. Meyer and Natalie J. Allen (see record 1997-97593-000). The authors have produced a very well-written and interesting book on the topic of organizational commitment. They bring a conceptual framework to a research area that seems to have been largely atheoretical. Their own theoretically derived and systematic research program spans two decades of research. In this book, Meyer and Allen carefully and methodically introduce their three-component conceptualization of work commitment and review empirical work either emanating from or relevant to their model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)