Prevalence and forms of bullying among business professionals: A comparison of two different strategies for measuring bullying

TLDR

The study aimed to assess how common and what forms of workplace bullying exist among business professionals in managerial or expert roles. A cross‑sectional survey of Finnish business‑studies graduates compared two bullying‑measurement strategies. Using a definition, 8.8 % reported occasional bullying, whereas a 32‑item questionnaire yielded 24.1 % reporting weekly negative acts, yet both methods identified the same individuals as more exposed to negative acts.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence and forms of workplace bullying among business professionals holding predominantly managerial or expert positions. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted among Finnish professionals with a university degree in business studies. In the study two different strategies for measuring bullying were used and compared. When provided a definition of bullying, 8.8% of the respondents reported that they had at least occasionally been bullied during the past 12 months. However, when using a slightly modified version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire (Einarsen & Hoel, 2001), containing a list of 32 predefined negative and potentially harassing acts, as many as 24.1% of the respondents reported that they had been subjected to at least one of the negative acts on a weekly basis. The respondents had experienced predominantly work-related negative acts, e.g., that their opinions and views were ignored, that they were given unreasonable deadlines, or that information was withheld. Although the prevalence rates reported with the two strategies varied considerably, there was still consistency between the two strategies in the sense that those who had classified themselves as bullied also reported higher exposure rates to almost all of the negative acts included.