Zooming in on the workplace bullying and turnover intentions pathway. The role of well-being and a cultural boundary condition
| Date | 31 October 2019 |
| Pages | 425-444 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-06-2018-0214 |
| Published date | 31 October 2019 |
| Author | Saima Ahmad,Ahmad Kaleem |
| Subject Matter | Hr & organizational behaviour,Global hrm |
Zooming in on the workplace
bullying and turnover
intentions pathway
The role of well-being and
a cultural boundary condition
Saima Ahmad
Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, and
Ahmad Kaleem
Central Queensland University, Melbourne, Australia
Abstract
Purpose –Despite the well-esta blished association between workplace bul lying and turnover intentions,
the mechanisms underl ying this relationship and its bo undary conditions remain unde rstudied. The
purpose of this paper is to exa mine employee affective well-b eing as a mediating mechanism by whi ch
exposure to workplace b ullying may trigger employee int entions to leave the workplace. I t also aims to
explore the role of nationa l culture in moderating the effects of wo rkplace bullying on employee well-be ing
and turnover intentio ns.
Design/methodology/approach –This research is conducted through a cross-cultural analysis of data
obtained from 627 Australian and Pakistani employees.
Findings –The findings reveal that exposure to workplace bullying triggers turnover intentions through its
negative effect on affective well-being in cross-cultural/national contexts. However, national culture
moderates these effects such that the effects of workplace bullying on well-being and turnover intentions are
weaker for Pakistanis than for Australians.
Originality/value –This paper reports original research that deepens the understanding of how, why and
when exposure to workplace bullying will prompt employees to leave the workplace in a cross-national
context. The research findings will assist international organisations in designing strategies tailored to the
national culture in order to mitigate the adverse effects of workplace bullying on staff turnover.
Keywords Quantitative, Well-being, Turnover intention, Workplace bullying, Cross-cultural analysis
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
During the past 20 years, a strong consensus has emerged internationally that workplace
bullying represents “a regular and persistent pattern of abrasive behaviours and hostile
messages directed toward one or more persons of weaker power with a real or perceived
intent to harm”(Ahmad et al., 2017, p. 204). Many harmful effects of workplace bullying are
revealed by a number of empirical studies conducted around the world. These include
increased levels of stress (e.g. Northern Europe: see Einarsen and Nielsen, 2015; Leymann,
1990), lower self-esteem (e.g. USA: Tracy et al., 2006), higher sickness absenteeism ( for a
meta-analysis of international literature, see Nielsen et al., 2016), stronger intentions to quit
the job (e.g. South Africa: Van Schalkwyk et al., 2011) and a decline in the overall well-being
of individuals exposed to such behaviour (e.g. Korea: Park and Ono, 2016). A large-scale
survey study in the UK has shown that 25 per cent of bullied respondents intended to leave
their jobs (Rayner and Keashly, 2005); the researchers noted that 75 per cent of those who
reported being bullied at work also experienced ill-health effects. Despite proliferation of
research on individual effects of bullying in many countries, current theory and empirical
evidence do not provide an in-depth understanding of how and when workplace bullying
and turnover are interlinked by considering the roles of well-being and cultural differences
Personnel Review
Vol. 49 No. 2, 2020
pp. 425-444
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-06-2018-0214
Received 16 June 2018
Revised 24 March 2019
4 June 2019
Accepted 9 July 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
425
Workplace
bullying and
turnover
intentions
in their relationship. The present study aims to shed more light on related mechanisms and
boundary conditions.
What is known about the effects of workplace bullying?
Extant research has largely focused on determining the effects of workplace bullying (and
associated forms of workplace mistreatment) on individuals exposed to it in various
organisations and within-country work settings (Bowling and Beehr, 2006; Branch et al.,
2013; Loi et al., 2015; Samnani and Singh, 2012; Yeun and Han, 2016). A systematic review of
the literature (see Nielsen and Einarsen, 2012) has highlighted that a prime focus of research
is on direct relationships of bullying for an individual’s well-being and other work-related
outcomes, and that there is a lack of theoretical basis in this area. Nielsen and Einarsen
(2012), therefore, call for further theoretical developments on examining mechanisms that
can explain how and when the outcome variables of workplace bullying are related: “there is
a need for both theoretical explanations and empirical assessments of moderating and
mediating variables that can explain the effects of bullying”(p. 327). Understanding the
effects of workplace bullying on employee well-being and turnover intentions is an
established line of research inquiry (Arenas et al., 2015; Branch and Murray, 2015; Djurkovic
et al., 2008; Glambek et al., 2014; Vartia, 2001). Organisations invest in employee retention
and well-being because these directly contribute to their bottom line (Agarwal, U.A. and
Gupta, V., 2018; Wright and Huang, 2012). They also incur considerable costs in employee
recruitment and training and are faced with a shortage of skilled human capital when an
employee quits the job (Agarwal, U.A. and Gupta, V., 2018). As one example, the
replacement cost for a single employee leaving has been estimated at $20,000 (Rayner and
Keashly, 2005). Accordingly, research on turnover has maintained an exclusive focus on
identifying its predictors, amongst which intention to turnover has emerged as significant
(Begley, 1998; Lee and Mitchell, 1994; Podsakoff et al., 2007).
Most intriguingly, empirical research conducted in different parts of the world has
shown that exposure to bullying and other related forms of mistreatments at work
(e.g. harassment, incivility) significantly predicts employee intentions to leave the job (e.g.
Norway: Glambek et al., 2014; China: McCormack et al., 2009; Finland: Salin and Notelaers,
2017; South Africa: Van Schalkwyk et al., 2011; Korea: Yeun and Han, 2016). For instance, a
recent qualitative inquiry on the consequences of workplace bullying in Australia finds that
“leaving the job to escape workplace bullying was considered as a viable coping approach
used by many individuals who were targeted as this could also protect their health and
well-being from further damage”(see Ahmad and Sheehan, 2017, pp. 90-91). However, there
is a dearth of cross-cultural research between eastern and western countries in this area,
even though cultural differences have been linked with variations in, tolerance for, and
acceptability of such behaviour (Loh et al., 2010; Power et al., 2013). The present study
therefore advances understanding of how exposure to workplace bullying triggers
intentions to turnover by incorporating its effect on employee well-being in the context of
cultural differences.
Motivation for this study
Workplace bullying is a major personnel issue worldwide, affecting 14 per cent of the adult
workforce on average (Nielsen et al., 2010). The occurrence of bullying has been found four
times higher than illegal forms of mistreatment (e.g. sexual harassment) at work (cf. Van
Schalkwyk et al., 2011). In view of the alarming rate of workplace bullying occurrence at
international level (see also International Labour Organization, 2006; Nielsen et al., 2010),
there is a clear need for more cross-cultural investigations between eastern and western
counties to obtain a deeper insight into international management of this issue. Taking up
this challenge, the motivation for the present study is twofold. First, it aims to create an
426
PR
49,2
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