Mats Glambek

Work & Stress - An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations 34(3) p. 279-299 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2020.1719554

Research and theory on deviance in work groups suggest that non-prototypical members risk devaluation and mistreatment by their peers. Drawing on the self-categorisation theory, we propose and test a contextual model to explain workplace bullying from a target perspective, using non-prototypicality as a predictor and social identification and anti-bullying norms at the work group level as two- and three-way cross-level moderators. Multilevel modelling and a sample of employees from the university sector in the Low Lands (n = 572) was employed. In line with our first hypothesis, we found that risk of exposure to workplace bullying is particularly high for non-prototypical work group members. We also hypothesised that work group social identification would facilitate bullying of non-prototypical members, while anti-bullying norms would buffer it. Results showed, however, that both conditions acted as buffering moderators on the main association. Lastly, the combination of the two also entailed a cross-level three-way interaction effect, showing that non-prototypicality is associated with bullying only in work groups characterised by low levels on both moderators. These novel and partly unexpected results demonstrate the relevance and significance of group level explanations for workplace bullying, holding significant implications for scholars and practitioners.

Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 30(5) p. 508-515 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2456

Based on a nationally representative sample (N = 1,613) and a true prospective design, we show that the link between self‐labelled workplace bullying and exclusion from working life (i.e., becoming a non‐participant in working life) over a 5‐year time lag becomes stronger with increasing numbers of perpetrators involved. The amount of exposure to bullying behaviours could not explain the added effect of multiple perpetrators, indicating that the presence of multiple perpetrators is significant in and of itself. A post hoc descriptive cross‐tabulation analysis also showed that when one or two perpetrators were involved at T1, the rate of exclusion from working life 5 years later did not differ substantially from the normal population's exclusion rate. When three or more perpetrators were involved, on the other hand, the exclusion rate approached 50%, indicating that ≥3 perpetrators could denote a critical cut‐off point for a distinguishable group‐bullying phenomenon, at least with respect to exclusion from working life.

Frontiers in Psychology 10 p. 1-16 Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01197

Leadership ostracism denotes a severe work stressor, potentially entailing more serious negative effects than other types of workplace ostracism. However, scholars have paid relatively little attention to ostracism carried out by leaders, leaving the phenomenon insufficiently accounted for in the literature. Hence, the present study aims to explore the content and typology of leadership ostracism behavior by in-depth interviews and inductive analyses based on grounded theory, in order to give a thorough presentation and description of the leadership ostracism concept as perceived and construed by Chinese subordinates. Respondents were invited using a snowball sampling technique, and the final sample consisted of 26 individuals employed in different Chinese firms. Based on the reported experience of the interviewees, 11 concrete leadership ostracism behaviors emerged from the data. Further analyses revealed a leadership ostracism behavioral typology model reflecting five core categories, i.e., general ignoring, neglect, exclusion, differential treatment, and undermining. These findings appear to partly replicate and partly expand on previous conceptualizations of workplace ostracism, indicating that leadership ostracism may reflect a distinct variant of the phenomenon, eligible to be studied in its own right. The present study also discusses certain culture-specific aspects of leadership ostracism that can be taken into consideration in future studies.

Work & Stress - An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations 32(3) p. 297-312 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2018.1427815

Journal of Psychosomatic Research 106 p. 73-75 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.01.010

Objective: The association between exposure to bullying at work and subsequent pain reports is relatively well-established, but few studies have examined possible moderators of this relationship. As gender is a known risk factor for pain, with women reporting pain levels of higher intensity and longer duration, a possible gender difference in the relationship between bullying and pain has been suggested, but not sufficiently tested. The objective of the present study was therefore to examine whether gender moderates the prospective relationship between exposure to workplace bullying behaviours and subsequent subjective back and neck pain. Methods: A national probability sample of Norwegian workers (N = 1003) was collected at two time points with a six-month time-lag. Assumptions were tested using regression and moderation analyses. Results: Exposure to bullying behaviours was associated with increased reports of subjective back and neck pain over time, and this relationship was moderated by gender. However, the interaction took a different form than expected, with back and neck pain increasing in response to bullying among men only, to a degree that nullified the baseline gender difference. Conclusion: The assumption that being female is a vulnerability factor for the development of pain in the aftermath of psychosocial stressors such as bullying was contradicted in the present study. Instead, women's relatively high baseline pain levels remain stable over time even after exposure to workplace bullying, while men's relatively low baseline pain levels increase in response to bullying, ultimately becoming tangent to the pain reported by women.

Industrial Health 54(1) p. 68-73 Doi: https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2015-0075

Industrial Health 53(2) p. 160-170 Doi: https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2014-0195

Human Resource Management Journal 24(3) p. 255-268 Doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12035

Workplace bullying is a severe problem in contemporary working life, affecting up to 15 per cent of employees. Among the detrimental outcomes of bullying, it is even postulated as a major risk factor for exclusion from work. In support of this claim, the current study demonstrates that exposure to bullying behaviour predicts an increase in both levels of job insecurity and intention to leave over a 6-month time lag, among a random sample of North Sea workers (n = 734). The findings suggest that bullied employees are insecure about the permanence and content of their job, and they may be at risk of turnover and exclusion from working life. It is recommended that these outcomes are taken into consideration when incidences of workplace bullying are addressed.

16th Conference of the European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology

Åpent foredrag, BI Campus Bergen

Fremtidkonferansen ved Handelshøyskolen BI

The Bergen Workplace Bullying Symposium

Kileseminaret 2022

Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace: Theory, Research and Practice. Third Edition. p. 263-284

The 19th Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology

11th International Conference on Workplace Bullying and Harassment

Violence and abuse in and around organisations p. 224-251 Doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315194868

Newsletter for the International Association of Workplace Bullying and Harassment

Kileseminaret 2015

The 17th Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology

16th Congress of the European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology

The 8th international conference on workplace bullying and harassment - future challanges