Bullying and health at work: The mediating roles of psychological capital and social support

Abstract

Psychological capital (PsyCap), which is a resource that comprises positive individual characteristics, has not previously been investigated in relation to the experience of bullying. The role of psychological capital and social support in relation to the impact of bullying at work was investigated in a quantitative survey of 2068 employees from a range of UK organizations. A resource model of bullying and health, with PsyCap and social support as potential mediators, was proposed and tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). Based on previous research we expected that both PsyCap and social support would mediate the impact of bullying. The model was tested with outcomes of both ill-being and well-being, and shown to be a good fit for the data. We concluded that both PsyCap and social support separately mediated the impact of bullying; however, it is their joint contribution that should be noted. The study indicates the value of PsyCap in relation to bullying, health and well-being in the workplace, and supports the inclusion of psychological capital and social support in more comprehensive models of bullying at work.