It’s Complicated Defining Workplace Bullying From the Human Resource Professional’s Perspective

an article by Renee L. Cowan (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA) published in Management Communication Quarterly Volume 26 Number 3 (August 2012)

Abstract

Human resource (HR) departments are typically tasked with hiring, firing, training, managing, and handling other personnel issues.

HR professionals carry out many important organizational initiatives, including dealing with employee disputes, serving as a liaison between the employee and the organization, and drafting and enforcing organizational policies and procedures (Bohlander & Snell; Lewis & Rayner).

One issue that has started to garner more attention in organizations across the globe and among HR professionals is the communication phenomenon of workplace bullying.

Generally, academic researchers describe workplace bullying as an extreme, negative, and persistent form of workplace emotional abuse achieved primarily through verbal and nonverbal communication (Keashly & Jagatic; Lutgen-Sandvik).

For HR professionals, the definition of workplace bullying could be much more complex. As workplace bullying is abuse primarily achieved through negative communication, communication researchers seem well suited to explore how HR professionals make sense of this issue.

Hazel’s comment:
One of the issues I have come across quite a lot recently is dealing with bullying in companies where there is no HR department, or even an HR person.. There is also the problem of the boss being the person who is doing the bullying. Whilst the obvious answer is “get another job” that is, as job-seekers will tell you quite readily, easier said than done.

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