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Workplace Bullying: a Communication Perspective Barbara Daniel Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2004 Workplace Bullying: A Communication Perspective Barbara Daniel Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION WORKPLACE BULLYING: A COMMUNICATION PERSPECTIVE By BARBARA DANIEL A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded Summer Semester, 2004 Copyright © 2004 Barbara Daniel All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Barbara Daniel defended on April 14, 2004. ______________________________ Dr. Stephen McDowell Professor Directing Dissertation _____________________________ Dr. Mary E. Guy Outside Committee Member _____________________________ Dr. Marilyn Young Committee Member _____________________________ Dr. Felecia Jordan-Jackson Committee Member ________________________________________________ Dr. Stephen McDowell, Chair, Department of Communication ________________________________________________ Dr. John Mayo, Dean, College of Communication The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above-named committee members. ii To my grand-children, Tye, Makayla, Kamari, and Amaya. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Dr. Stephen McDowell, you helped me tremendously over the past year, guiding me with patience and encouragement without which I may not have completed this work. You have been a wonderful mentor. Thank you for reading all those drafts and editing my work so willingly. Dr. Marilyn Young, you have always been an inspiration and a role model, from the first class I had with you on historical methods to your comments and suggestions over the past year. Dr. Felecia Jordan-Jackson, thanks for all your very, very helpful suggestions over the past few years and for always having an open door for me throughout this process. Dr. Guy, thank you so much for your support over the years. Your confidence in me and my ideas about workplace violence helped tremendously as I began writing about this vexing issue. Dr. Dan Montgomery, thank you for your recommendations and comments as I began this study. Your advice has been and will always be invaluable. Dr. Donna Nudd, thank you for your support in my early graduate years and for giving me the courage to undertake higher studies. Dr. John Payne, your advice and encouragement throughout my undergraduate and graduate years will never be forgotten. Thanks to Kea Herron who helped with formatting and editing. To my children, Andre, Lloyd, Penelope, Greg, Karen, Rachel, and Derrick, you have always been my inspiration. Without you these years of study would have been meaningless. To my husband, Derick, there are no words that can express my love and gratitude for the endless hours of discussion, your patience as I occasionally went into “moments of despair,” and just for being there when I needed you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ..........................................................................................................................vi Abstract...................................................................................................................................vii PART ONE 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 9 3. METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................30 PART TWO 4. FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW..................................................................................44 5. INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS ...................................................................................77 6. TEXTUAL RESEARCH ...........................................................................................104 PART THREE 7. TRIANGULATION...................................................................................................138 8. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH .......................................................153 APPENDIX A – Approval letter from Human Subjects Committee and Informed Consent Forms ............................................................................................163 APPENDIX B – List of Statements used during Individual Interviews................................166 APPENDIX C – Three Definitions of Workplace Bullying..................................................167 APPENDIX D – Letter inviting participants to focus group interview.................................168 APPENDIX E – Fiscal Plan for Interviews ...........................................................................169 APPENDIX F – Focus Group Revised Agenda ....................................................................170 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................171 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................................................182 v LIST OF TABLES 1 Correspondence between verbal abuse and power/control/intimidation ...................101 2 Correspondence between verbal abuse and other issues............................................101 3 Difference between supervisor-employee interpretations .........................................132 vi ABSTRACT In the United States, laws have been passed in most states protecting individuals from harassment, sexual harassment, assault, stalking and discrimination. However, employees are still recipients of unprofessional communication in which they are abused verbally, intimidated, and, in general, made to feel inadequate. As a result, some employees quit their jobs or develop major health problems. In some instances, they commit suicide or homicide at work. Psychologists in America who examined these workplace behaviors concluded that the deliberate and repeated verbal aggression coupled with ridicule or harassing and intimidating strategies caused mental and physical harm. They called the phenomenon workplace bullying, a term that was already in use in England and other countries. Focusing on supervisor-employee communication, this study explored elements/symbols that would lead to a definition of workplace bullying from a communication perspective. The theory of symbolic interactionism laid a foundation for the study. Qualitative methods were used: a focus group interview, individual interviews, and textual research. The focus group, consisting mainly of HR experts who worked in or were associated with Florida state government, proposed several themes, including lack of dignity and lack of respect, themes that were aggregated as unprofessional communication. Other themes that emerged were verbal abuse, power, subtle communication, and lack of recourse. Lack of recourse was viewed as powerlessness, or lack of support. Interviews with employees who had resigned or retired as well as interviews with current employees revealed the powerlessness employees felt when faced with unprofessional communication, verbal abuse, power, and subtle communication. A search through newspapers, academic journals, and professional journals provided interpretations from national and international organizations which supported the themes that emerged from the interviews. Overall, the study showed that workplace bullying occurred when employees lacked recourse. A link between workplace bullying and workplace violence was noted. Vignettes used in the study pointed to some situations that ended in workplace violence when employees lacked recourse. The study proposed a definition of workplace bullying and recommended that management provide employees with recourse to stem occurrences of workplace bullying, an action that would also result in a decrease in workplace violence. vii PART ONE CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION Introduction The use of negative communication at work is of international concern. In Australia, and some European countries, legislators have enacted and enforced laws that warn employers against using communication that causes misery in the workplace (Namie & Namie, 2003). In the United States and England, laws have been promulgated in an effort to provide safe, secure and just work environments. These laws are enforced through organizations responsible for employees’ health and safety and agencies responsible for protecting against discrimination. In the United States, laws have been passed in most states protecting individuals from harassment, sexual harassment, assault, stalking and discrimination. However, employees still complain that they are abused verbally, intimidated, and, in general, made to feel inadequate (Daniel, 2002). Situations in which employees are subjected to verbal attacks and to harassing and intimidating behaviors occur frequently in organizations (Namie & Namie, 2003; Malloy, 1998; Hochheiser, 1998, Hornstein, 1996). Incidents that have non-fatal endings leave employees frustrated; some quit their jobs or develop major health problems. Researchers who recently began examining these workplace behaviors conclude that the deliberate and repeated verbal aggression coupled with ridicule or harassing and intimidating strategies cause mental and physical harm which they regard as a complex phenomenon— workplace bullying (Middleton-Moz &
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