Chaos and the Abuse of Power

TLDR

Bullying is a pervasive workplace problem, yet its causes have been largely overlooked beyond the personality traits of bullies. This article investigates how relational powerlessness and organizational chaos contribute to the emergence of workplace bullying. The authors analyze content‑coded organizational ethnographies using integrated quantitative and qualitative methods drawn directly from the ethnographic data. They find that relational powerlessness combined with organizational chaos drives bullying, while mismatches between organizational and relational factors mean bullying is shaped by context‑specific power dynamics, underscoring the need to protect vulnerable employees and reduce chaos.

Abstract

Bullying is a significant workplace problem—as fact highlighted by a growing body of social science literature. Its causes, however, have received little systematic attention beyond analyses of the personality attributes of bullies. This article explores the roles of relational power and organizational chaos in the emergence of workplace bullying. The analysis of content-coded organizational ethnographies integrates quantitative and qualitative techniques and draws heavily from the ethnographies themselves. Results suggest that the interplay of relational powerlessness and organizational chaos gives rise to bullying. In contrast, where there is a disjuncture between organizational and relational factors, the extent of bullying is determined by underlying, context-specific aspects of power. These results suggest a need for organizations not only to protect the weak, but also to eliminate chaos—chaos that creates openings for the abuse of power.