Nova Southeastern University NSUWorks Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations CAHSS Theses and Dissertations 2019 Understanding Challenges of the Healthy Workplace Bill – An Interpretive Policy Analysis Cynthia Contreras Follow this and additional works at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dcar_etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Share Feedback About This Item This Dissertation is brought to you by the CAHSS Theses and Dissertations at NSUWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of NSUWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Understanding Challenges of the Healthy Workplace Bill – An Interpretive Policy Analysis by Cynthia Contreras A Dissertation Presented to the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences of Nova Southeastern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Nova Southeastern University 2019 Copyright © by Cynthia Contreras November 2019 Nova Southeastern University College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences This dissertation was submitted by Cynthia Contreras under the direction of the chair of the dissertation committee listed below. It was submitted to the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and approved in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Nova Southeastern University. Dedication To my Godparents, Joseph and Miriam Torres, thank you for helping me achieve my dream to come to the United States to live and to come to college. I was able to graduate with my Bachelors, my Masters, and now my Ph.D. thanks to your generosity, selfless guidance and love. To my parents, Juan Francisco Contreras and Elsa Marina Solares; my sister, Gabby Contreras de Gomez, and her family, thank you for your support in all of my educational and American adventures; thank you for always supporting my decisions and encouraging me to do what I love. To my grandmothers Paula de María Aguirre Aguilar and Refugio Grijalva Vazquez, thank you for being the “resilient women” role models in my life. I miss you every day and I carry you in my heart always. To my best friends, Nicte’ Torres, Ana Maria Schwindt and Liz Phrampus. Thank you for your unconditional support always and for encouraging me to finish what I started. You know my story and how difficult my life journey has been. Thank you for not giving up on me. Acknowledgments I would like to thank God and the Virgin Mary for their never-ending blessings and mercy on me throughout my life. I have always been a private person when it comes to faith but I know that I have been never been alone in times of darkness and they have always been guiding me towards the light. I am grateful for all of the faculty and staff at Nova Southeastern University (NSU), especially my dissertation chair, Dr. Neil Katz, for his guidance. He has been instrumental in me getting my topic and ideas approved. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Urszula Strawinska-Zanko and Dr. Judith McKay, for their feedback and support on my topic. I am very grateful to the respondents to my survey for this study, I truly appreciate them taking their time to participate, as well as the expert in the field of Workplace Bullying. Meeting this expert was one of the highlights of my life and I cannot wait to meet this person again in the future. My time at NSU has been memorable and I will never forget my classmates, especially Dr. Sue Walton-Robertson, who became one of my closest friends in this program. I still keep in touch with many of my classmates that have already have graduated and I feel grateful for their advice and feedback as I entered this last step. I feel lucky to have meet so many amazing people in the past 7 years; the stories of my peers and faculty are embedded in my heart always. I am also grateful to the faculty and staff, past and present, of the University of Central Florida who supported my Ph.D. goals, especially Dr. Thomas Bryer, Dr. Mary Ann Feldheim, Dr. Naim Kapucu, Dr. Genaro Lopez, Dr. Wilfredo Lopez-Ojeda, Dr. Mohtashem Samsam, Dr. Raheleh Ahangari, Ms. Jacqueline Waleski, Ms. Margaret Blankenship and Mr. Gregory Weigel. I am grateful for my family, my chosen family, my SEED friends and safe space, friends in the U.S., Guatemala and around the world; especially my generation of cousins, who have been a close part of my life and have always supported my life goals. Finally, I would like to note that I had many experiences with bullying in school, with family and in the workplace. However, the experiences I’ve had are the reason why I’m inspired to work for the voiceless, the marginalized, the abused, the oppressed and the abandoned; for those who feel as if they do not belong anywhere. Table of Contents List of Tables ................................................................................................................. iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................ vi Abstract .......................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ................................................................................ 1 Background ................................................................................................................. 1 Goal of the Proposed Research ................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................... 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 6 Defining Workplace Bullying ..................................................................................... 7 Workplace Bullying as Defined in the Healthy Workplace Bill............................... 11 The Healthy Workplace Bill Explained .................................................................... 13 International Anti-Workplace Bullying Laws .......................................................... 16 Importance of Addressing Workplace Bullying and its Interpretations ................... 20 Social Conflict Theories Related to Workplace Bullying ......................................... 20 Chapter 3: Research Method .......................................................................................... 30 Mixed Methodology Research Towards an Interpretive Policy Analysis ................ 30 Research Problem Summary and Research Question .......................................... 32 Research Sub-Questions ...................................................................................... 33 Research Design................................................................................................... 33 Research Design – Qualitative ............................................................................. 34 Research Design – Quantitative ........................................................................... 40 Interpretive Policy Analysis Steps ............................................................................ 43 i Ethical Aspects of this Research Study .................................................................... 46 Chapter 4: Results .......................................................................................................... 49 Analysis, Results and Findings ................................................................................. 49 Qualitative Analysis and Results ......................................................................... 49 Quantitative Analysis and Findings ..................................................................... 81 Results Comparing Responses Between Employees and Managers.................... 94 Mixed Methodology Triangulation .................................................................... 115 Interpretive Policy Analysis Steps, Results and Findings from this Study ............. 124 Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations ...................................... 130 Discussion ............................................................................................................... 130 Review of the Theoretical Framework .............................................................. 130 Review of the Interpretive Policy Analysis ....................................................... 136 Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 140 Contribution to Conflict Analysis and Resolution Field ........................................ 144 Recommendations ................................................................................................... 146 Final Reflection ....................................................................................................... 146 References .................................................................................................................... 148 Appendix A: Workplace Bullying Definitions ............................................................ 157 Appendix B: Workplace Bullying Definitions Used in Bills ...................................... 165 Appendix C: Characteristics/Behaviors that Define Workplace Bullying .................