Abstract
Workplace bullying is an anti-social behaviour which is defined as continuous harassment or “mobbing” of individual employee experienced for a relatively longer period of time. This may take several forms such as constant abuse, offensive remarks or teasing, ridicule, social exclusion, harassment, physical violence etc. The situation may be damaging to the wellbeing and job performance of the employee. However, if the organisation provided necessary support to the employee the effect of bullying could be mitigated. The paper examines these issues in selected Malaysian organisations. A sample of 231 employees representing different industry, size, gender, age, experience and job position responded to a self-rated questionnaire which measured the study variables, namely workplace bullying, psychological strain, self-rated job performance, and organisational support. Result indicated that nearly 14 % employees faced bullying incidents either weekly or daily. Such incidents resulted in higher psychological strain and lower job performance. Role of psychological support was positive in promoting performance and reducing strain.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Agervold, M., & Mikkelsen, E. G. (2004). Relationships between bullying, psychosocial work environment and individual stress reactions. Work and Stress, 18(4), 336–351.
Bjorkqvist, K., Osterman, K., & Hjelt-Back, M. (1994). Aggression among university employees. Aggressive Behavior, 20(3), 173–184.
Carroll, L. C., & Lauzier, M. (2014). Workplace bullying and job satisfaction: The buffering effect of social support. Universal Journal of Psychology, 2(2), 81–89.
Chen, A., Eisenberger, R., Johnson, K. M., Sucharski, I. L., & Aselage, J. (2009). Perceived organisational support and extra-role performance: Which leads to which? Journal of Social Psychology, 149(1), 119–124.
Einarsen, S., & Raknes, B. I. (1997). Harassment in the workplace and the victimization of men. Violence and Victims, 12(3), 247–263.
Einarsen, S., Raknes, B. I., Matthiesen, S. B., & Hellesoy, O. H. (1996). Bullying at work and its relationships with health complaints: Moderating effects of social support and personality. Nordisk Psykologi, 48, 116–137.
Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D., & Cooper, C. L. (2003). The concept of bullying at work: The European tradition. In S. Einasen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Bullying and emotional abuse at workplace: An international perspective in research and practice (pp. 3–30). London: Taylor & Francis.
Eisenberger, R., Huntington, R., Hutchison, S., & Sowa, D. (1986). Perceived organizational support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, 500–507.
Fisher-Blando, J. L. (2008). Workplace bullying: Aggressive behavior and its effect on job satisfaction and productivity. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Phoenix.
Goldberg, D. P. (1972). The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Greenberg, J. (2011). Behavior in organizations (10th ed.). London: Pearson.
Hauge, L. J., Skogstad, A., & Einarsen, S. (2007). Relationships between stressful work environments and bullying: Results of a large representative study. Work and Stress, 21(3), 220–242.
Hoel, H., Cooper, C. L., & Faragher, B. (2001). The experience of bullying in Great Britain: The impact of organizational status. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 443–465.
House, J. S., Landis, K. R., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationship and health. Science, 241, 540–545.
Kessler, R. C., Barber, C., Beck, A., et al. (2003). The world health organization health and work performance questionnaire (HPQ). Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 45(2), 156–174.
LaVan, H., & Martin, W. M. (2008). Bullying in the U.S. workplace: Normative and process-oriented ethical approaches. Journal of Business Ethics, 83, 147–165.
Leymann, H. (1996). The content and development of mobbing at work. European Journal of Work and Psychology, 5(2), 165–184.
Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Tracy, S. J., & Alberts, J. K. (2007). Burned by bullying in the American workplace: Prevalence, perception, degree and impact. Journal of Management Studies, 44(6), 837–861.
Mikkelsen, E. G., & Einarsen, S. (2001). Bullying in Danish work-life: Prevalence and health correlates. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 393–413.
Nahum-Shani, I., & Bamberger, P. A. (2011). Explaining the variable effect of social support on work-based stressor-strain relations: The role of perceived pattern of support exchange. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Process, 114, 49–63.
Namie, G. (2003). Workplace bullying: Escalated incivility. Ivey Business Journal, 68(2), 1–6.
Niedl, K. (1996). Mobbing and well-being: Economic and personal development implications. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 239–249.
Nielsen, M. B., Mathiesen, S. B., & Einarsen, S. (2010). The impact of methodological moderators on prevalence rates of workplace bullying: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational and organizational Psychology, 83(4), 955–979.
O’Driscoll, M. P., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., Bentley, T., Catley, B. E., Gardner, D. H., & Trenberth, L. (2011). Workplace bullying in New Zealand: A survey of employee perception and attitudes. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 49(4), 390–408.
O’Moore, M., Seigne, E., McGuire, L., & Smith, M. (1998). Victims of bullying at work in Ireland. The Journal of Occupational Health and Safety: Australia and New Zealand, 24(3), 569–574.
Pallant, J. (2010). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using SPSS. New York: McGraw Hill International.
Patah, M. O., Abdullah, R., Naba, M. M., Zahari, M. S., & Radzi, S. M. (2010). Workplace bullying experiences, emotional dissonance and subsequent intentions to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. Journal of Global Business and Economics, 1(1), 15–26.
Salin, D. (2001). Prevalence and forms of bullying among business professionals: A comparison of two different strategies for measuring bullying. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 4(4), 425–441.
Vartia, M. (2001). Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying. Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environment and Health, 279(1), 63–69.
Yahaya, A., Ing, T. C., Lee, G. M., Yahaya, N., Boon, Y., & Hashim, S. (2012). The impact of workplace bullying on work performance. Archives Des Sciences, 65(4), 18–28.
Yeen, O. I. (2012). December 10. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?sec=lifefocus&file=/2012/12/10/lifefocus/12373851
Zapf, D., Knorz, C., & Kulla, M. (1996). On the relationship between mobbing factors and job content, social work environment and health outcomes. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5, 215–237.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Hassan, A., Al Bir, A.T.S., Hashim, J. (2015). Workplace Bullying in Malaysia: Incidence, Consequences and Role of Organisational Support. In: Bilgin, M., Danis, H., Demir, E., Lau, C. (eds) Innovation, Finance, and the Economy. Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15880-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15880-8_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15879-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15880-8
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)