Citation

Lipscomb J, London M, McPhaul KM, Ghaziri ME, Lydecker A, Geiger-Brown J, Johnson JV. Violence Vict. 2015; 30(5): 813-829.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Springer Publishing)

DOI

10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-14-00031

PMID

26299698

Abstract

Workplace violence is an enormous problem worldwide; incidents where the perpetrator is a current or former employee are an important dimension. This large cross-sectional survey examined the prevalence of this problem among a U.S. state government unionized public sector workforce. Using participatory action research methods, we conducted a web-based survey of members of that workforce from a single northeast U.S. state, receiving 11,874 completed surveys (response rate: 71.8%). Overall, 10.0% of the respondents indicated that they had been bullied at work during the prior 6 months, with 71.9% of those who reported regular bullying identifying the perpetrator as a supervisor and/or top management. The prevalence of bullying was similar to the rates reported in Europe and Scandinavia (5%-30%). Those reports also identified the person(s) responsible for the behavior as being predominantly of higher status within the organization.

Language: en