Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, Vol.

7, 181±191 (1997)

A Summary Review of Literature Relating to

Workplace Bullying

CHARLOTTE RAYNER*
Staffordshire University Business School, Leek Road, Stoke on Trent ST4 2DF

HELGE HOEL
University of Salford, UK

ABSTRACT

This paper is intended to provide literature signposts for the new researcher into adult
bullying. A concise, but not exhaustive, overview of literature relating to workplace bullying is
undertaken. It draws on the base provided by work into school bullying and progresses to the
arena of adult bullying. In both fields Scandinavian countries have contributed a significant
proportion of the research. Research reported in the English language into adult bullying at
work is rather limited, but will have emphasis in this paper. Broadly there are two direct
approaches; that of investigating the incidence of bullying, and also that of attempting to
understand the bullying process. Both approaches are sometimes integrated within a study.
There is a wide range of work that can be related to bullying at work, and some of these areas
are highlighted. #1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol 7, 181±191 (1997)

No. of Figs: 0 No. of Tables: 0 No. of Refs: 63

Key words: bullying; workplace; definition; leadership; personality

INTRODUCTION

Literature searches for research and comment on workplace bullying reveal

surprisingly little attention paid directly to the topic. In the business arena,
anecdotal articles generally prevail, while in the social science literature, school
bullying is by far the most dominant topic for report. The latter has developed into a
coherent body of literature, and will be referred to for the base it provides in

* Correspondence to: C. Rayner.

CCC 1052±9284/97/030181±11$17.50
#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
182 C. Rayner and H. Hoel

researching bullying amongst adults at work. There is, however, a very broad set of
approaches that can be adopted, and it is hoped that a steep learning curve can be
achieved for this topic in the future as it is relevant to so many other areas of work.

BULLYING IN SCHOOLS

Bullying in a school context has received attention over a number of years (e.g.
Olweus, 1991; Roland and Munthe, 1989; Besag, 1989; Smith and Thompson, 1991).
The literature in this area is multinational (Batch and Knoff, 1994; and Roland and
Munthe, 1989, provide helpful reviews). Some standardized measures have been
developed, for example the Olweus Bullying Index (Olweus, 1978), and there is a
general agreement on definition.
Definition revolves around several descriptive factors; frequency is stressed and
unbalanced power situations generally prevail (e.g. Olweus, 1991; Bjorkqvist, 1994)
with intent sometimes appearing (e.g. Besag, 1989). Clustering of types of bullying has
also been achieved with direct physical and verbal, and indirect bullying (such as social
isolation) being the main parameters. There are some differences in definition of
indirect bullyingÐfor example Bjorkqvist sees it as actions from the perpetrator out of
view of the victim, others (e.g. Olweus, 1991; Rivers and Smith, 1994) see indirect
bullying as including non-overt aggression, such as social exclusion. Valerie Besag
(1989) presents a good review of the various approaches and a critique of definitions.
The incidence studies have asked pupils (and sometimes staff) about children
bullying each other. Triangulation has generally been attempted and achieved to
provide internal validity. The standardized measures relate to bullying incidents `in
the last 6 months', and comparative data is therefore possible. International
comparisons, while always difficult (see below), show incidence varying between
countries, for example Sweden at 15% (Olweus, 1991, 1978) and the UK at 23%
(Stephenson and Smith, 1989). It is of note that in the USA acts of bullying are
frequently identified with the use of weapons, with 19% of 8th-graders being
threatened with a weapon (Johnston, O'Malley and Bachman, 1993).
The American agenda is thus appropriately different regarding measures for
dealing with bullyingÐrevolving around reducing the number of guns and knives
being taken into school (Johnston, O'Malley and Bachman, 1993). In comparison,
other countries tend to look at school policy development and communication,
facilitating disclosure and assisting those who are the targets of bullying. A major
UK project at Sheffield University evaluated two methods of intervention (Sharp
and Smith, 1994); Pikas' `Method of Shared Concern' (Pikas, 1989), and
assertiveness training for bullied pupils. The study found both approaches to have
value. The widely publicised `bully courts', where pupils have a measure of control
over outcome, were not chosen to be utilized by any school in this project due to
concern by school staff.
School data also deal with those involved in bullying and point to an important
issue for international comparisons. Scandinavian countries call bullying `mobbing'
(after the English `mob', originally referring to a group activity). In schools as well as
the workplace they experience a higher level of groups bullying an individual than,
for example, in the UK, where it is more usual for the bully to be an individual. The

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
 Review of literature and workplace bullying 183

Scandinavian `mobbing' is also seen in German studies (e.g. Niedl, 1995) and
Japanese literature (e.g. Tubbs, 1994, Crystal, 1994). Some attention has been paid
to the differences between being bullied by a group and being bullied by an
individual (see Rivers and Smith, 1994; Pikas, 1989). It is suggested that the two are
qualitatively different processes demanding different remedial strategies (Pikas,
1989, pp 91±104).
Other points of interest from the literature into school bullying include
psychosocial indicators within the backgrounds of child bullies and also insights
into victim profiles (Besag, 1989; Crystal, 1994; Bjorkqvist, 1994).

ADULT BULLYING

Adult bullying at work presents a less developed field with perhaps the most
advanced work to be found in Scandinavia (e.g. Leymann, 1990, 1992a; Einarssen
and Skogstad, 1996; Bjorkqvist, 1994). The Scandinavian academic interest in adult
bullying is matched with strong public awareness and reflected in the establishment
of laws specifically against bullying/mobbing in Sweden in 1993 and Norway in
1994. Considerable research into incidence has been funded by the government, with
trade unions participating. Some claims are dramatic; Leymann (1992d) states that
one in seven adult suicides are as a result of workplace bullying. All incidence work
relates to victim self-reports and is dominated by the questionnaire method.
Leymann's method appears to be predominantly structured interviews and
interviewer-administered questionnaires. Einarssen and colleagues at Bergen have
used postal questionnaires. They achieved a good spread of some parameters
amongst the samples (white and blue collar, public and private sector) and the
samples were very large (Leymann, 2428; Einarssen, 4700). One study has
successfully surveyed a complete population with non-participation rates at only
1% (Rayner, this Issue), but as participants were part-time University students this
also uses a biased sample, although quite large, with 1137 respondents.
Adult bullying at work presents the researcher with considerably more difficulties
than that of children at school. There are inherent problems with definition. Physical
bullying appears to be rarely reported (8%, Einarssen et al. 1994) with verbal and
indirect bullying at higher levels of incidence. In the workplace there is considerable
scope for a wide range of subtle tactics, and the parameters are broad. Generally,
bullying behaviours can be grouped into the following categories: threat to
professional status (e.g. belittling opinion, public professional humiliation,
accusation regarding lack of effort); threat to personal standing (e.g. name-calling,
insults, intimidation, devaluing with reference to age); isolation (e.g. preventing
access to opportunities, physical or social isolation, withholding of information);
overwork (e.g. undue pressure, impossible deadlines, unnecessary disruptions); and
destabilization (e.g. failure to give credit when due, meaningless tasks, removal of
responsibility, repeated reminders of blunders, setting up to fail). Elements of these
categories are to be found in all the references below.
Definition is central, and to some extent necessarily influenced by the legal
perspective. The related areas of racial and sexual harassment provide some pointers
as to the likely situation in the UK. The victim must feel harassed, their work be

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
184 C. Rayner and H. Hoel

affected, and there must be a measure of frequency to the action. Thus it is likely that
a manager shouting abusively at an employee once (especially if this does not affect
their work) is unlikely to be taken as bullying. In Sweden, the rule of thumb adopted
is that frequency should be around one incident a week for the past 6 months
(Leymann, 1992a).
Some literature deals directly with bullying, often in the wider `harassment'
context incorporating sexual and racial harassment. Carroll Brodsky, as the
Independent Medical Examiner for the California Workers' Compensation
Appeals Board, provides insight into the cases reaching his office in The Harassed
Worker (1976). This is an important early text. He defines harassment behaviour as
involving `repeated and persistent attempts by one person to torment, wear down,
frustrate, or get a reaction from another. It is treatment which persistently provokes,
pressures, frightens, intimidates or otherwise discomforts another person' (p. 2).
Brodsky subdivides this experience into `subjective harassment', referring to
awareness of harassment by the target, and `objective harassment' which is where
the external evidence of harassment is found. Neither is independent. This allows the
investigator to be able to look at absolute behaviours (whether or not someone finds
them bullying) as well as victims' reactions to situations (whether or not an outsider
would judge them as bullying), which is a very useful dichotomy. The objective
harassment items he chooses to discuss are highly tangible incidents, and other texts
(e.g. Bassman, 1992; Adams, 1992) provide a wider outline of the subtle behaviours
in which workplace bullies can engage.
Einarssen et al. (1994) (see also Einarssen and Raknes, 1991) disagree with the
usefulness of this dichotomy. In a discussion regarding Brodsky's view, they point to
the effect of work culture as a parameter affecting the interpretation of behaviour as
bullying and its acceptance. Culture can therefore act as a screen through which
behaviours are interpreted, and they therefore see the dichotomy of little help. They
go further to point out that different individuals will have different thresholds, which
will affect perception of the act on an individual basis, and that the key element is the
victims' reaction to the bullying behaviour. They see that intent on behalf of the
bully presents considerable difficulty for measurement in terms of perception,
reliability, value systems, etc. In the parallel arena of racial and sexual harassment,
intent is not included as a component element for the harassment to have occurred.
Brodsky's text focuses mainly on subjective harassment and provides descriptors
of the cases he dealt with, but `We cannot describe a composite or model harassed
person . . . among these patients were individuals to fit almost every psychiatric
diagnostic category' (p. 89). It is of note that those who reached Brodsky's clinic are
already a self-selecting group, and even within this group he discovers a full breadth
of individual profiles. The complexity of the topic is emphasized here, as not only is
context and individual perception crucial, but there appears to be no readily
identifiable segment of the population being more or less affected by bullying. Stress
effects are another factor overlying these issues, which must be taken into account
due to the longevity of bullying situations.
Brodsky perceives bullies as manipulating for power or privilege, and that some
positions of power encompass the privilege to inflict harassment (his example is the
Marine Corps drill instructor). Such arguments provide strong support for the
evaluation of the cost/benefit of bullying (Bjorkqvist, Osterman and Hjelt-Back,
1994). Brodsky also highlights the societal functionality of bullying, for example,

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
 Review of literature and workplace bullying 185

`Harassment and work pressure are devices for testing individuals and indicating to
them whether they have passed or failed' (p. 15).
Most of the Scandinavian work is published in Swedish and Norwegian.
Prominent among the Scandinavian researchers is Leymann, who has pioneered
the field. Definition includes persistency and continuity of actions with negative
effect on the victim (Leymann, 1992b; Sjotveit, 1992; Thylefors, 1987; Kihle, 1990;
Einarssen & Skogstad, 1996). Incidence studies show 4±5% of employees being
bullied at any one time, the average period being 3 years. The two major studies are
Leymann (1992b) and Einarssen and Raknes (1991), both reported in English in
Einarssen and Skogstad (1996) and Einarssen, Raknes and Matthiesen (1994).
The effects of bullying have been classified by Leymann as incorporating the
victims' abilities to retain communication skills, social contact, the respect of others;
the effect on work and life situations; and finally the effect on health. He highlights
the `ripple effect' of bullying, where friends and family (i.e. people not in the work
environment) can become involved. Leymann correctly argues the importance of
distinguishing stress reaction indicators which are present as a consequence of
bullying from those already in place before the incident(s).
A useful American text is from occupational psychologist Emily Bassman
(Bassman, 1992) who provides an excellent description of the range of bullying
behaviours. Her text is useful for the Human Resource Management professional
and occupational psychologist. Case data are discussed in depth and wide linkages to
other psychological literature, such as learning theory, are explored.
The UK text by Andrea Adams and Neil Crawford provides case studies of
workplace bullying (Adams, 1992), with both authors having been involved in the
field for several years. Adams's descriptors, like Bassman's, are very useful and
Crawford is unusual in that, as a psychotherapist attached to the Tavistock Clinic
(used by many UK organizations for consultancy), he has worked with bullies,
victims and their organizations. Crawford sees the bully as someone who has failed
to resolve childhood conflicts effectively, and there are some parallels between his
approach and that of Thylefors (1987). Both consider anger and frustration
management as essential for the agendas of the organizations hoping to deal with
this (see also Fromm, 1974; Klein, 1975). The classic psychopathic bully may provide
insight into individual cases, but these people are likely to be very rare and would, in
our view, contribute to only a small part of bullying.
Most of the Scandinavian research has focused on the relationship between
bullying and the quality of the work environment (e.g. Einarssen, Raknes and
Matthiessen, 1994). Correlations have been found between high occurrence of
bullying and leadership style, role conflict and work control (see all Einarssen et al.
references). Insufficient work control and high levels of role conflict are seen as
acting as precursors to bullying. Those who are perceived as responsible for the level
of control and role conflict may be seen as bullies where these are at levels which
cause problems. Leadership style in the Scandinavian literature refers to lack of
leadership. In line with Brodsky and Ashforth (Ashforth, 1994), lack of leadership is
seen as needing to exist for bullying to be accepted.
Gender differences have revealed a variety of results. The UK study (Rayner, this
Issue) identified that the bullies were usually seen as being the managers or senior
managers of the targets, with gender discrepancies of bullies (only 33% women)
reflecting the proportions of men and women in management, and thus not

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
186 C. Rayner and H. Hoel

necessarily indicating gender difference between men and women as bullies. A

significant interaction as regards gender between the bully and bullied was found,
with men rarely perceiving themselves to be bullied by women, and women reporting
a more equal gender balance of bully. These findings reflect the Scandinavian work
(Sjotveit, 1992; Leymann, 1989; Einarssen & Raknes, 1991).
Age has been investigated, with inconclusive results. Einarssen et al. (1994) found
older people were significantly more likely to be bullied than younger people, with
Rayner (this Issue) finding the opposite, although a skewed age sample in the latter
study may have affected the result. Leymann (1992b) found a lack of significance
between the age groups. One would suspect that age is not a discreet variable, but
part of an interactive set. Clearly, national culture and work culture differences may
have a considerable effect here.
Job type has also been investigated, again with inconclusive findings. It is worth
noting that many of the authors who rely on anecdotal data (e.g. Adams, 1992;
Bassman, 1992) identify mostly white-collar workers. It must be stressed that several
of these writers work with victims who have searched the writers out, thus creating a
self-selecting group. This does highlight the need for solid methodology and it is
perhaps no surprise that white-collar workers appear to such a great extent in
anecdotal texts, as they are more likely to be articulate and pursue access to help.
There appear to be some international differences in adult bullying which reflects
school data; Scandinavian studies find about 50% peer bullying (Einarssen and
Raknes 1995), thus confirming the appropriateness of the term `mobbing', while this
only accounts for 12% of the UK study (Rayner, this Issue).
The studies by the Bergen group, led by Stale Einarssen, show that work
environment factors can only explain part of the picture, which suggests that
personality factors have a large part to play in workplace bullying (Einarssen and
Skogstad, 1996). These findings present difficulty for Leymann, who rejects the
impact of personality factors on bullying (Leymann, 1987).
Adams (Adams, 1992) is particularly adept in surfacing the problems for
organizations trying to combat workplace bullying, and these can be followed
through into the Midland Bank's highly regarded anti-bullying policy (Crabb, 1995).
Emily Bassman presents an American viewpoint (Bassman, 1992). These writers
stress the need to train staff in the identification of bullying (as one is looking for
patterns rather than isolated incidents) and the care required to protect both
partiesÐaccused and accuserÐin the process of investigation. Midland Bank is a
large enough organization to be able to provide staff unknown to those being
investigated from within the bank to gather evidence and generate the highly factual
reports from which senior management can then take decisions.
Sjotveit (1992, awaiting publication in English) has attempted a sociological
approach to bullying, emphasizing the role of trade unions. Weak methodology
(large numbers of focus groups) undermines the scientific contribution of this study,
but it holds value. His references to labour process theory (Braverman, 1974) are
interesting and signal an opportunity of further widening the field of research.

RELATED LITERATURE

Workplace violence has received some attention (e.g. Allcorn, 1994; Leather, Cox
and Farnsworth, 1990; Cox and Leather, 1994; Mantell, 1994), although its link to

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
 Review of literature and workplace bullying 187

bullying at work is problematic, hence its inclusion in this part of the review.
Clearly some overlap exists, but in the main `violence at work' focuses on
aggressive verbal behaviour or physical aggression which can be between strangers
and may only happen onceÐfor example, aggression by clients of welfare officers,
violence encountered by bus drivers from passengers. Almost all the literature in
this field is concerned with violence by the public against people at work (e.g.
HSE, 1987, 1989; Rey, 1994; Labour Research Department, 1994). This is
undoubtedly a key area for study, and its relationship to bullying needs to be
identified, with frequency taking these acts outside the `normal' definition of
bullying. Of potential further confusion is that in the US literature, workplace
violence perpetrators are often `disgruntled employees' who have themselves been
a target of bullying, and the violence is a way of hitting back at their previous
tormentors. Graphic descriptors of this can be found in Ticking Bombs: Violence
in the Workplace by Michael Mantell (1994).
The contribution of experimental aggression studies to workplace bullying is
rather limited. In reviewing the conceptual and experimental work on aggression,
Geen (1990) typifies the usual psychological aggression study as being in a
laboratory between strangers. This provides strong internal validity, but at the
expense of external validity. When attempting to transpose this learning into
workplace bullying there are significant drawbacks. Bullying at work occurs between
people who know each other and who have a past and a future. Bullies may
manipulate a well-known environment to achieve their ends. In this way most of the
experimental literature on aggression is not directly applicable. Some concepts
within this literature could be of great value. The delineation between affective
aggression (with high emotional content) and instrumental aggression (serving some
other end or purpose) could be useful in the study of bullies, as could learning theory
for the development and acceptance of the act. Parameters such as whether
reinforcement is positive or negative, and the frequency and duration of the stimulus,
may be useful in model construction. Eisenberg (1980) has identified that positive
reinforcement is very important in aggression learning, with negative reinforcement
being less so.
One way of approaching the subjectivity of reports included in this emotive topic
is attribution theory (Baron, 1990). In this we tend to explain our own negative
behaviour through our environment, and the negative behaviour of others through
their personality traits. Attribution theory can help to identify and interpret the skew
of reported incidents and has been used in other areas (e.g. Jensen and Gutek, 1982;
Fine, 1985). Leymann uses it to explain why others brand victims `mentally ill' and
do not understand their behaviour. Einarssen and Bjorkqvist use it to explore the
perceptions of the targets of bullying and others.
The relationship between workplace bullying and stress is clearly a primary area of
study, given the breadth of literature in stress research (e.g. Cooper and Payne,
1988). Health effects hold strong parallels (e.g. Leymann, 1992d; Bjorkqvist,
Osterman and Hjelt-Back, 1994; Einarssen and Skogstad, 1996). Cost data from the
stress field is useful for approximating the effects of bullying at work. For example,
Earnshaw and Cooper (1996) report that up to a third of UK stress-related
employment legal cases are primarily as a result of workplace bullying. The Director
General of the UK Health and Safety Executive, Jenny Bacon, recently put the costs
of stress at work as £4.5 billion (People Management, 27 June 1996, p. 14).

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
188 C. Rayner and H. Hoel

In attempting to define bullying, the Bergen group refer to Cox (1978) and the
transactional stress model, which views stress as an active and dynamic process
between a person and his/her environment. In this context, stress is the discrepancy
between the perceived capability and perceived demands when approaching a
stressful situation. It could be seen that the bully both undermines a person's
perceived capability and increases the perceived demand in work situations, and
therefore there is solid logic to using this model.
A debate regarding the role of personality has been referred to earlier. Personality
traits may hold value for those involved in the field (e.g. Utley, Richardson and
Pilkington, 1989). Machiavellianism is a well-developed field and could be related to
bullying. The experimental field has measures (for example the Christie and Geiss
1980, Mach 4 test) and considerable experimental data. Careful study of this
literature reveals that people who score high on Mach 4 (Christie and Geiss, 1980)
are not more punitive than low scorers (p. 87). This may be relevant where a bully
has a low emotional content and removal of the victim is part of the bully's task.
`Machiavellianism' is also used in a wide context as a term and the comment above
refers to the experimental data. Kets de Vries and Miller (1984) and Kets de Vries
(1991) provide interesting comment from an analytic point of view.
Conflict literature reveals some other useful pointers. Van Vliert and de Dreu
(1994) and Karen Jehn (1994) have studied the potential for increasing performance
through utilizing task and emotional conflict (emotional conflict leading to
decreased levels of performanceÐJehn, 1994). What is important about this work
is that it does not automatically condemn stressing practicesÐa reality for many
managing in work environments. The cost/benefit of bullying is mentioned in
Bjorkqvist et al. (1994) although not fully explored.

FURTHER COMMENTS

Studying adult bullying at work presents considerable difficulties. The breadth of the
phenomenon encompasses many different forms of behaviour, and also reaction.
The `Related Literature' areas above identify examples, and many other areas could
have been included, e.g. risk assessment, accident theory. Finding patterns amongst
victims and bullies has been difficult, reflecting the complexity of the topic and the
lack of straightforward answers.
Methodology is a considerable problem. Almost all the data sources for bullying
are from victim self-reports, and naturally their subjectivity and bias will affect
results. Some stress researchers are concerned about the use of self-reports (e.g.
Burke, Brief and George, 1993). We need to hear from the bullies in order to provide
a more complete picture.
The wide diversity of current and potential approaches from different academic
backgrounds is perhaps a barrier to real progress if conducted in isolation. We
think we can count the number of people bullied (see final points below), and have
looked at some aspects of the victim experience and the possible dynamics within
the bully; however, these are often taking place in separate fields. It is the authors'
opinion that cross-disciplinary work will hold considerable promise for
understanding bullying.

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
 Review of literature and workplace bullying 189

The delineation between bullying, harassment, conflict and violence varies

considerably between writers. A broad approach was felt pragmatically appropriate
for this paper, but there will be specialists who would be concerned about these areas
of difficulty, and they are justified. A lack of clarity in these areas will mean that
definition will suffer and debate will be delayed. It is possible that we need to abandon
the term `bullying' and work to a more complex taxonomy.
A final difficulty relates to international comparisons. Hofstede (1993) provides
strong evidence that there are differences in international working cultural norms.
Power Distance is a key Hofstede dimension, which will affect perceptions of
bullying and management style (Pavett and Morris, 1995). A Scandinavian study has
found considerable differences between the perceptions of sexual harassment by
Norwegian and American women (Einarssen and Serum, 1995). These studies are
examples of how the use of direct cross-cultural comparisons need to be approached
with considerable caution.

REFERENCES

Adams, A. (1992) Bullying at Work: How to Confront and Overcome It, Virago, London.
Allcorn, S. (1994) Anger and the Workplace, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.
Ashforth, B. (1994) `Petty Tyranny in Organizations', Human Relations, 47, 755±778.
Baron, R. A. (1990) `Attributions and organizational conflict', in S. Graham and V. Volkes
(eds), Attribution Theory: Applications to Achievement, Mental Health and Interpersonal
Conflict, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Bassman, E. (1992) Abuse in the Workplace, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.
Batch, G. M. and Knoff, H. M. (1994) `Bullies and their victims', School Psychology Review,
23(2), 165±174.
Besag, V. (1989) Bullies and Victims in Schools, Open University Press, Milton Keynes.
Bjorkqvist, K., Osterman, K. and Hjelt-Back, M. (1994) `Aggression among university
employees', Aggressive Behaviour, 20, 173±184.
Bjorkqvist, K. (1994). `Sex differences in aggression', Sex Roles, 30(3/4), 177±188.
Braverman, H. (1974) Labour and Monopoly Capitalism, Monthly Review Press, New York.
Brodsky, C. M. (1976) The Harrassed Worker, Lexington Books, DC Heath, Toronto.
Burke, M. J., Brief, A. P. and George, J. M. (1993) `The role of negative affectivity in
understanding relations between self reports of stressors and strains. A comment on the
applied psychology literature', Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 402±412.
Christie, R. and Geiss, F. (1980) Studies in Machiavellianism, Academic Press, New York.
Cooper, C. L. and Payne, R. (1988) Causes, Coping and Consequences of Stress at Work,
Wiley, Chichester.
Cox, T. (1978) Stress, Macmillan, London.
Cox, T. and Leather, P. (1994) `The prevention of violence at work: application of a cognitive
behavioural theory', in C. Cooper and T. Robertson (eds), International Review of Industrial
and Organisational Psychology, Wiley, Chichester.
Crabb, S. (1995) `Violence at work: the brutal truth', People Management, 1(15), 25±29.
Crystal, D. S. (1994) `Concepts of deviance in childhood and adolescence: the case of Japan'
Deviant Behaviour, 15(3), 241±266.
Earnshaw, J. and Cooper, C. L. (1996) Employers' Liability for Workplace Stress, PD,
London.
Einarssen, S. and Raknes, B. I. (1991) Mobbing I Arbeitslivet. En undersokelse av forekomst og
helsemessige konsekvenser av mobbing pa norske arbeidsplasser, FASH Universitetet i
Bergen, Bergen.
Einarssen, S. and Raknes, B. I. (1995) Harrassment in the Workplace and Victimization of Men.
Paper to the 7th European Congress of Work and Organizational Psychology, Gyor,
Hungary.

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
190 C. Rayner and H. Hoel

Einarssen, S., Raknes, B. I. and Matthiesen, S. B. (1994) `Bullying and its relationship to work
and environment quality. An Exploratory study', European Work and Organizational
Psychologist, 4, 381±401.
Einarssen, S. and Serum, D. R. (1995) Arbeidskamerat eller sex-objekt? En kryssaktuell studie
au seksuell trakassering I arbeidslivet. Institut for Samfunnspykologi, Universitetet Bergen,
unpublished.
Einarssen, S. and Skogstad, A. (1996) `Epidemiological findings of bullying', European Journal
of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 185±201.
Eisenberg (1980) cited in Geen, R. G. (1990) ibid, p. 25.
Fine, M. (1985) `The social construction of `what's fair' at work', Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 15(2), 166±177.
Geen, R. G. (1990) Human Aggression, Open University Press, Milton Keynes.
Hofstede, G. (1993) `Cultural constraints in management theories', The Executive, 7(1),
81±94.
HSE (1987) Violence to Staff in Health Services, Health Services Advisory Committeee HSE,
HMSO, London.
HSE (1989) Violence to Staff, HMSO, London.
Jehn, K. (1994) `Enhancing effectiveness: an investigation of advantages and disadvantages of
value-based intragroup conflict optimising performance by conflict stimulation',
International Journal of Conflict Management, 5(3), 223±238.
Jensen, I. W. and Gutek, B. A. (1982) `Attributions and assignment of responsibility in sexual
harassment', Journal of Social Issues, 38(4), 121±136.
Johnston L. D., O'Malley, P. M. and Bachman, J. G. (1993) Monitoring the Future for Goal 6,
the National Educational Goals: A Special Report for the National Educational Goals Panel,
University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor.
Kets de Vries, M. F. R. and Miller, D. (1984) The Neurotic Organization, Jossey-Bass, San
Francisco.
Kets de Vries, M. F. R. (1991) `The leader's addiction to power', Journal of Management
Studies 28(4), 339±351.
Kihle, S. (1990) Helsefarlige ledere og medarbeidare, Hjemments Bokforlag, Oslo.
Klein, M. (1975) Envy and Gratitude, Hogarth, London.
Labour Research Department (1994) May Bargaining Report, HRD Publications,
London.
Leather, P., Cox, T. and Farnsworth, B. (1990) `Violence at work: an issue for the 1990s',
Work & Stress, 4(1), 3±5.
Leymann, H. (1987) `Sjalvmord till foljd av forhallanden i arbetsmiljon', Arbete, Manniska,
Miljo, 3, 155±160.
Leymann, H. and Thallgren, U. (1989) `An investigation into the frequency of bullying in
SSAB, with a new questionnaire', Arbete, Manniska, Mjilo, 1, 3±12.
Leymann, H. (1990) `Mobbing and psychological terror at workplaces', Violence and Victims,
5(2), 119±126.
Leymann, H. (1992a) Fran Mobbning till Utslagning: Arbeidslivet, Publica, Stockholm.
Leymann, H. (1992b) Vuxen mobbning pa svenska arbeidsplatser, Delrapport 1 om frekvenser,
Arbetarskyddstyrelsen, Stockholm.
Leymann, H. (1992d) Psyiatriska problem vid vuxenmobbning, Derapport 3,
Arbetarskyddstyrelsen, Stockholm.
Mantell, M. (1994) Ticking Bombs: Violence in the workplace, Irwin, Homewood, IL.
Niedl, K. (1995) Mobbing/bullying am Arbeitsplatz, Rainer Hampp Verlag, Munich.
Olweus, D. (1978) Aggression in Schools: Bullies and their Whipping Boys, Hemisphere,
Washington, DC.
Olweus, D. (1991) `Bully/victim problems among schoolchildren', in I. Rubin and D. Pepler
(eds), The Development and Treatment of Childhood Aggression, pp. 411±447, Erlbaum,
Hillsdale, NJ.
Pavett, C. and Morris, M. (1995) `Management styles within a multinational corporation. A
five country comparison', Human Relations, 48(10), 1171±1191.
Pikas, A. (1989) `The common concern method for the treatment of mobbing' in Roland, E.
and Munthe, E. (ibid).

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)
 Review of literature and workplace bullying 191

Rey, L. D. A. (1994) `Educating social workers to cope with client violence', in K. E. Hessler
(ed), Social Work, Education, State of the Art, Centre of Education and Management,
Amsterdam.
Rivers, I. and Smith, P. K. (1994) `Types of bullying behaviour and their correlates',
Aggressive Behaviour, 20, 335±368.
Roland, E. and Munthe, E. (1989) Bullying: An International Perspective, David Fulton,
London.
Sharp, S. and Smith, P. K. (1994) Tackling Bullying in Your SchoolÐA Practical Handbook for
Teachers, Routledge, London.
Sjotveit, J. (1992) Nar Veven Rakner. Om Samhold og Mobbning pa Arbeidsplassen, Folkets
Breuskole, Oslo.
Smith, P. K. and Thompson, D. (1991) Practical Approaches to Bullying, David Fulton,
London.
Stephenson, P. and Smith, D. (1989) `Bullying in the junior high school', in D. Tattum and D.
Lane (eds), Bullying in Schools, pp. 45±57, Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent.
Thylefors, I. (1987) Syndebokar. Om utstotning och Mobbning I Arbetslivet, Natur og Kulture,
Stockholm.
Tubbs, W. (1994) `Roots of stress-death and juvenile delinquency in Japan', Journal of
Business Ethics, 13, 507±522.
Uttley, M. E., Richardson, D. R. and Pilkington, C. J. (1989) `Personality and interpersonal
conflict management', Personality and Individual Differences, 10(3), 287±293.
Van de Vliert, E. and de Dreu, C. (1994) International Journal of Conflict Management 5(3),
211±222.

#1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. J. Community Appl. Soc. Psychol., Vol. 7, 181±191 (1997)