Chaos, Reports, and Quests: Narrative Agency and Co-Workers in Stories of Workplace Bullying

This study examined narratives that targets of workplace bullying told about their difficult work experiences along with how co-workers were framed in these narratives. Three different narrative types emerged from their accounts: chaos, report, and quest narratives. Co-worker responses of support or lack thereof were related to the construction of various narrative forms and the level of narrative agency evident in target accounts. The study has important implications for the difference co-workers can make in a target’s ability to withstand bullying and narrate his or her experience

Chaos, Reports, and Quests: Narrative Agency and Co-Workers in Stories of Workplace Bullying

This study examined narratives that targets of workplace bullying told about their difficult work experiences along with how co-workers were framed in these narratives. Three different narrative types emerged from their accounts: chaos, report, and quest narratives. Co-worker responses of support or lack thereof were related to the construction of various narrative forms and the level of narrative agency evident in target accounts. The study has important implications for the difference co-workers can make in a target’s ability to withstand bullying and narrate his or her experience

Perceptions of Communication With Gay and Lesbian Family Members: Predictors of Relational Satisfaction and Implications for Outgroup Attitudes

This study investigates perceptions of family communication among members with different sexual identities. Specifically, from the perspective of heterosexual family members (N = 129), the study takes an intergroup perspective to determine how accommodative and non-accommodative communication and attitudes toward homosexuality predict intergroup anxiety and relational satisfaction with gay or lesbian family members. Further, the manner in which family communication influences attitudes toward homosexuality is examined. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research on heterosexual-homosexual interaction, family communication, and intergroup communication, in general

Perceptions of Communication With Gay and Lesbian Family Members: Predictors of Relational Satisfaction and Implications for Outgroup Attitudes

This study investigates perceptions of family communication among members with different sexual identities. Specifically, from the perspective of heterosexual family members (N = 129), the study takes an intergroup perspective to determine how accommodative and non-accommodative communication and attitudes toward homosexuality predict intergroup anxiety and relational satisfaction with gay or lesbian family members. Further, the manner in which family communication influences attitudes toward homosexuality is examined. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research on heterosexual-homosexual interaction, family communication, and intergroup communication, in general

“Exploring the Basement of Social Justice Issues”: A Graduate Upon Graduation

Photograph of rides building up, taken J. Stevens' Fair, 20 June 1961 whole general view, looking West. See Leeson's notebook 9, pages 92-95 for notes

From order to chaos: A narrative analysis of workplace bullying

The overarching purpose of the present study was to examine how targets of workplace bullying narrate their difficult work experiences. In addition to investigating how targets communicate about bullying I also explored the distinctiveness of the term workplace bullying to label this experience. Finally, the usefulness of advice available to targets was examined. The first research question I addressed in this study was how do targets of workplace bullying socially construct bullying as different from and/or similar to harassment? The second research question I posed was how do targets of workplace bullying narrate their experiences? The third research question was how do targets frame themselves, the bully, and coworkers in their narrative? The fourth research question for the present study was what does the telling of workplace bullying narratives do for targets? The fifth and final research question was how do targets perceive the usefulness of the advice they are given? In order to answer these questions I conducted in-depth interviews with 48 targets of workplace bullying which yielded 1,270 pages of single-spaced interview transcripts. Findings from the present study revealed that targets utilized four different narrative types which were chaos narratives, quest narratives, report narratives, and counter narratives. The reason targets told their narratives and how they framed themselves, the bully, and coworkers coincided with the type of narrative they told. Findings also revealed that targets felt workplace bullying differs from harassment namely because they linked harassment closely with sexual advances. Finally, target responses pointed to a paradox of advice where useful advice exists but due to the many constraints of bullying they felt unable to use it. This study sheds important light on how targets of workplace bullying narrate their experience to others. The findings of this study also revealed important theoretical and practical implications and areas of future research which would make great strides toward developing an even greater understanding of this complex phenomenon

From order to chaos: A narrative analysis of workplace bullying

The overarching purpose of the present study was to examine how targets of workplace bullying narrate their difficult work experiences. In addition to investigating how targets communicate about bullying I also explored the distinctiveness of the term workplace bullying to label this experience. Finally, the usefulness of advice available to targets was examined. The first research question I addressed in this study was how do targets of workplace bullying socially construct bullying as different from and/or similar to harassment? The second research question I posed was how do targets of workplace bullying narrate their experiences? The third research question was how do targets frame themselves, the bully, and coworkers in their narrative? The fourth research question for the present study was what does the telling of workplace bullying narratives do for targets? The fifth and final research question was how do targets perceive the usefulness of the advice they are given? In order to answer these questions I conducted in-depth interviews with 48 targets of workplace bullying which yielded 1,270 pages of single-spaced interview transcripts. Findings from the present study revealed that targets utilized four different narrative types which were chaos narratives, quest narratives, report narratives, and counter narratives. The reason targets told their narratives and how they framed themselves, the bully, and coworkers coincided with the type of narrative they told. Findings also revealed that targets felt workplace bullying differs from harassment namely because they linked harassment closely with sexual advances. Finally, target responses pointed to a paradox of advice where useful advice exists but due to the many constraints of bullying they felt unable to use it. This study sheds important light on how targets of workplace bullying narrate their experience to others. The findings of this study also revealed important theoretical and practical implications and areas of future research which would make great strides toward developing an even greater understanding of this complex phenomenon

Hope for the Future

Jan often thinks about the professional development meeting she attended in 2005 when she and a group of fellow teachers learned about the extent of poverty and homelessness in their school district. They were all shocked to learn that in their community of 26,000 people, 21were homeless. Students in the community were reaching out to teachers and cafeteria workers for basic necessities like winter coats and extra food to take home for the weekend so they didn’t go hungry. “This is unacceptable. We have to do something about it,” Jan, a long time high school English teacher, shared with her coworkers.This is a manuscript of a chapter from Tye-Williams, S., & Marshall, J. M. (2015). Hope for the future. In J. M. Smith & M. W. Kramer (Eds.), Case studies of Nonprofit Organizations and Volunteers (pp. 82-87): Peter Lang. doi: 10.3726/978-1-4539-1483-0. Posted with permission.</p