Workplace Health Promotion, Workplace Bullying and Workplace Wellness

Dear Colleagues,

The impact of workplace bullying and harassment on the health and wellbeing of workers is unequivocal; meta-analyses of both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies demonstrate a robust relationship between the experience of being bullied and a range of health difficulties (Nielsen and Einarsen, 2018). Demonstrated across diverse occupations, sectors, and cultures, this is one of the most well-established findings in the workplace bullying literature. However, there is still a lot we do not know about health and bullying; pathways between the experience and the outcome, the role of identity disruption, the role of gender, and the contribution ethical climate could help toward a much-needed intervention.

This Special Issue invites submissions on any of the following overlapping themes:

1. How and when does exposure to bullying influence the health and wellbeing of the targets? What are the pathways or mediators between experiences of bullying and harassment and physical or mental ill health? Are there conditions, environmental or cognitive factors such as psychological contract breach or perceived intent that moderate the relationship? What theoretical perspectives can be brought to bear on this?
2. There is evidence that bullying can challenge targets’ basic assumptions about themselves, others, and the world (Mikkelsen and Einarsen, 2002) including identity disruption (D'Cruz and Noronha, 2012). How does this relate to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, all known outcomes of bullying?
3. While bullying has been shown to lead to poorer health, it also predicts poorer health (Nielsen and Einarsen, 2018). Can we unravel the complexity of the relationship between bullying and harassment and ill health? Are there gender differences in either the impact of health on bullying or the impact of bullying on health?
4. Organizational response to bullying is poor, and often, redress is nonexistent (Hodgins et al., 2020). Organizations appear to engage in equivocation and prevarication, playing out procedures over time in a way that, given the known impact on health, is clearly unethical. How can organizations be facilitated to consider the impact of their enactment of their policies and practices on the health of employees? What of the relationship between bullying, incivility, ethical work climate, and health? We welcome papers that explore this intersection.

Contributions have to follow one of the three categories (article/review/conceptual paper) of papers for the journal and address the topic of the Special Issue. Please read details at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/societies/instructions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

D'Cruz P, Noronha E. Clarifying My World: Identity Work in the Context of Workplace Bullying. The Qualitative Report. 2012;17(16):1-29

Hodgins M, MacCurtain S, Mannix McNamara P. Power and inaction: why organizations fail to address workplace bullying. International Journal of Workplace Health Management 2020;13(3):265-90.

Mikkelsen EG, Einarsen  S. Basic assumptions and symptoms of posttraumatic stress among victims of bullying at work. European Journal Work and Organizational Psychology. 2002;11:87-111.

Nielsen MB, Einarsen S. What we know, what we do not know, and what we should and could have known about workplace bullying: An overview of the literature and agenda for future research. Aggression and Violent Behaviour. 2018;42:71-83.

Prof. Dr. Patricia Mannix McNamara
Prof. Dr. Margaret Hodgins
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as conceptual papers are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Societies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• workplace bullying
• harassment
• health
• wellbeing
• ethical climate