A hostile work climate and workplace bullying: reciprocal effects and gender differences
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2022-0127 |
| Published date | 16 May 2023 |
| Date | 16 May 2023 |
| Pages | 46-61 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Michael Rosander,Denise Salin |
A hostile work climate and
workplace bullying: reciprocal
effects and gender differences
Michael Rosander
Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Link€
oping University,
Link€
oping, Sweden, and
Denise Salin
Department of Management and Organization, Hanken School of Economics,
Helsinki, Finland
Abstract
Purpose –In this paper the authors argue that organizational climate and workplace bullying are connected,
intertwined and affect each other. More precisely, the focus of the present study is how a hostile climate at work
is related to workplace bullying. A hostile work climate is defined as an affective organizational climate
permeated by distrust, suspicion and antagonism. The authors tested four hypotheses about the reciprocal
effects and possible gender differences.
Design/methodology/approach –The study is based on a longitudinal probability sample of the Swedish
workforce (n51,095). Controlling for age, the authors used structural equation modelling and cross-lagged
structural regression models to assess the reciprocal effects of a hostile work climate on workplace bullying.
Gender was added as a moderator to test two of the hypotheses.
Findings –The results showed a strong reciprocal effect, meaning there weresignificant associations between
a hostile work climate and subsequent bullying, β50.12, p50.007, and between baseline bullying and a
subsequent hostile work climate, β50.15, p50.002. The forward association between a hostile work climate
and bullying depended on gender, β50.23, p< 0.001.
Originality/value –The findings point to a possible vicious circle where a hostile work climate increases the
risk of bullying, which in turn risks creating an even more hostile work climate. Furthermore, the findings point
to gender differences in bullying, showing that the effect of a hostile work climate on workplace bullying was
stronger for men.
Keywords Workplace bullying, Hostile work climate, Gender differences
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In this paper we argue that organizational climate and workplace bullying are connected,
intertwined and affect each other. Workplaces where bullying occurs have been described as
confrontational, strained and unfriendly (Vartia, 1996). In fact, that the organizational climate
may playan importantrole for the occurrenceof workplacebullying hasbeen put forth sincethe
pioneering work of Brodsky (1976), who argued that there needs to be a climate or culture that
permits mistreatment for bullying to occur. An organizational climate can broadly be defined as
“psychologically meaningful molar descriptions that people can agree characterize a system’s
practices and procedures”(Schneider, 1975, p. 474). The focus of the present study is on how a
ER
45,7
46
© Michael Rosander and Denise Salin. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is
published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce,
distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial
purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence
may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
Funding: This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working life and
Welfare under Grant number 2019-01232, and Academy of Finland under Grant number 308843.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 16 March 2022
Revised 21 December 2022
27 March 2023
Accepted 24 April 2023
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 45 No. 7, 2023
pp. 46-61
Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-03-2022-0127
hostile climate at work is related to workplace bullying. A hostile work climate is defined as an
affective organizational climate permeated by distrust, suspicion and antagonism (Mawritzet al.,
2014). It is not about negative behaviours of a select few individuals, but describes a general
tendency among employees to behave in a more antisocial way (Robinson and O’Leary-Kelly,
1998). Workplace bullying, in turn, is defined as a systematic prolonged mistreatment of an
employee in situations that gradually become more difficult to defend against (Einarsen et al.,
2020). In essence, it is about repeated negative social behaviour towards specific individuals
(Salin, 2003). In this study, we contribute to existing research by investigating the reciprocal
effects of a hostile work climate and bullying, as well as possible gender differences in these
associations, that is, if the relationship between a hostile work climate and workplace bullying
looks the same for men and women.
A hostile work climate as a breeding ground for workplace bullying
Previous research has shown that the work environment plays an important role when it
comes to the risk of workplace bullying (Salin and Hoel, 2020). According to the work
environment hypothesis (Einarsen et al., 1994;Leymann, 1996) deficiencies in the work
environment are important predictors of workplace bullying (Hauge et al., 2011;Skogstad
et al., 2011). More, specifically, the three-way model, introduced by Baillien et al. (2009),
elaborates on how different facets of the work environment, sometimes in connection with
individual traits, may operate to enable and stimulate bullying through three different routes.
In essence, deficiencies in the work environment may increase the risk of bullying by giving
rise to conflicts that can escalate into bullying, by causing frustration which results in
aggressive behaviour or by directly enabling or stimulating bullying.
First, previous research has shown a strong association between interpersonal conflicts and
subsequentbullying (Baillien et al., 2009;Einarsenet al., 2020). Central to theconcept of a hostile
work climate is that it is an affective climate coloured by feelings of suspicion, distrust and
opposition towards others (Mawritzet al., 2012,2014); feelings that may be a breedin g ground for
conflicts. It is important to stress that interpersonal conflicts are not the same as bullying
(Baillien et al., 2017;Notelaers et al., 2018). However, an interpersonal conflict can escalate and
turn into bullying if prolonged, where threats turn into enactment, and one party becomes
weaker with reduced ability to defend themselves (Zapf and Gross, 2001). This process has been
referred to as dispute-related bullying (Einarsen, 1999). It may be conflict behaviours that
escalate where one party becomes the victim and one th e perpetrator (Baillien et al., 2016). The
way one handles a conflict, by using a problem-focussed approach or by an assertive, forcing
approach, may predict becoming the target or the perpetrator (Baillien et al., 2014).
Second, when employees perceive deficiencies in the work environment, such as
contradictory expectations and perceived unfair or unequal treatment, it may give rise to
frustration. Frustrations in turn may give rise to aggressive behaviour (Baillien et al., 2009;
Berkowitz, 1989). In a hostile work climate misunderstandings fuelled by distrust, suspicion
and antagonism may create frustration, which in combination with ineffective coping may
lead frustrated employees to lash out onto others. High levels of frustration may also lead
them to break norms that in turn lead others to aggress towards them (cf. Baillien et al., 2009).
Third, some characteristics of the work environment may directly enable or stimulate
bullying. Baillien et al. (2009) suggested that the way team members interact with each other
on a daily basis could affect if negative behaviours are perceived as allowed or punishable
and thereby affect the risk of future bullying. In line with this, research has pointed to the
importance of the social context and climate. For instance, a strained atmosphere has been
found to be a risk factor (Vartia, 1996), whereas the risk has been found to be lower at
workplaces with high psychological safety climate (Law et al., 2011) or high levels of group
identification (Escart
ınet al., 2013). In a hostile work climate, permeated by distrust, suspicion
and antagonism (Mawritz et al., 2014), employees overall tend to behave in a more antisocial
Hostile work
climate and
workplace
bullying
47
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