Tudor and Stuart Ireland /

Includes bibliographical references

Workplace bullying and incivility: A systematic review of interventions

Purpose Workplace mistreatment has a negative impact on the health and well-being of approximately 20 per cent of workers. Despite this, few interventions have been evaluated and published. The purpose of this paper is to address the question “what interventions designed to reduce workplace bullying or incivility are effective and what can be learnt from evaluated interventions for future practice?” Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was undertaken in which 11 electronic databases were searched, yielding 5,364 records. Following screening on abstract and title, 31 papers were retained for detailed review and quality assessment. Subsequently, 12 interventions to address workplace bullying or incivility were critically appraised. Findings The papers spanned a wide range of approaches to and assumptions about resolving the problem of bullying and/or incivility. Half the studies focused on changing individual behaviours or knowledge about bullying or incivility, and duration of intervention ranged from two hours to two years. Only four studies were controlled before-after studies. Only three studies were classed as “moderate” in terms of quality, two of which were effective and one of which was partially effective. Originality/value A final synthesis of results of the review indicate that multi-component, organisational level interventions appear to have a positive effect on levels of incivility, and should be considered as a basis for developing interventions to address workplace bullying

Power and inaction: why organizations fail to address workplace bullying

The purpose of this paper to explore the role of both individual and organisational power in the creation and maintenance of the problem. Such an approach moves away from the specific practice of identifying “bullying” that typically engages targets and perpetrators in a dance that is really just around the edges (Sullivan, 2008) of a larger problem; a culture that permits the abuse of power and ill-treatment of workers, in both practices and through organisational politics. Design/methodology/approach – This paper elucidates key problems with organisational response as identified in the literature and critically examines weak organisational response to workplace bullying using the power theory, arguing that while overt approaches to addressing bullying appear to be underpinned by a simplistic, functionalist understanding of power, practices on the ground are better explained by more sophisticated “second-dimension” theorists. Findings – There is a need for organisations to move beyond the current individualistic understanding of bullying towards a more nuanced understanding of how anti-bullying policies and procedures are themselves an exercise in institutional power protecting and reinforcing dominant power structures. Research limitations/implications – The literature from which this paper is drawn is limited to studies published in English. Practical implications – The authors advocate a realistic assessment of the role of both individual and organisational power in the creation and maintenance of workplace bullying, as a way forward to plan appropriate intervention. Social implications–Workplace bullying is problematic for organisations at several levels,and therefore for society. Originality/value – That power is relevant to workplace bullying has been apparent since the work of Brodsky in 1976 and Einarsen’s early work, this paper builds on a the more nuanced work of McKay (2014), D’Cruz and Noronha (2009), Liefooghe and MacDavey’s (2010) and Hutchinson et al. (2010), exploring the organisational response to the raising of bullying issues by individual employees as an exercise of power

“ . . . A Bit of a Joke”: policy and workplace bullying

Workplace bullying is pervasive and has negative impacts on organizations and their employees. Despite this, organizations generally do not deal well with the problem. Anti-bullying, or Dignity-at-Work policies, do not adequately protect employees from the harms caused by bullying. This study, based on data from the 2018 Irish Workplace Behavior Study, explores experience of organizational responses to workplace bullying, drawing on interviews with participants from three large Irish organizations. One overarching theme and five sub themes emerged from the thematic content analysis, reinforcing earlier findings regarding the complex and problematic nature of workplace bullying and opaque “ownership” of anti-bullying or Dignity-at-Work policy and its implementation. The study concludes that organizations must actively establish a culture of interpersonal respect, rather than simply instituting a policy where ultimately no one takes responsibility. Facilitating employee well being requires social cohesion across an organization

The prevalence of ill-treatment and bullying at work in Ireland

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of ill-treatment and bullying experienced by Irish workers and to explore individual and organisational predictors. The most recent national figures available are specific to bullying and predate the economic recession; therefore, this study is timely and investigates a broader range of negative behaviours. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey study on a national probability sample of Irish employees was conducted (N = 1,764). The study design replicated the methodology employed in the British workplace behaviour study. Findings The results showed that 43% of Irish workers had experienced ill-treatment at work over the past two years, with 9% meeting the criteria for experiencing workplace bullying. A number of individual and organisational factors were found to be significantly associated with the experience of ill-treatment at work.Social implications This study is of use to the Irish regulator and persons responsible for managing workplace bullying cases, as it identifies high-risk work situations and contributing individual factors. Originality/value This study provides national Irish data on workplace behaviour and ill-treatment following a severe economic recession

Women of the wild geese: Irish women migrants in Spain, 1750-1775.

This single-authored article draws upon Irish and Spanish primary sources to show how first and second generation Irish women migrants, succeeded in assimilating in Spanish society in the mid-eighteenth century. The advancement of schools and hospitals is examined, alongside the women’s development of networks of power and influence. It examines women in the key towns of Madrid, Barcelona, Valladolid, Burgos, Santiago, Ferrol, Pontevedra, Seville and Cadiz. The study is a revised and extended version of an invited conference paper given at the Rocky Mountain Medieval and Renaissance conference on ‘Borders and Frontiers in the Medieval and Early Modern World’ held in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2002