Bullying in the Bahamian Workplace

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v26i0.355

Keywords:

Bullying in the workplace, Psychological Abuse, Work environment, Conflict management

Abstract

This paper reports the first known study on workplace bullying in The Bahamas. Over 2,000 people participated in an Internet-based study in the spring of 2020. The data suggest that 22% of the workforce may suffer from severe workplace bullying. This is a relatively high figure and is a potential cause for concern. While no difference in the rate of bullying between male and female workers was identified, the underlying associations which appear to put males and females at risk of workplace bullying vary. For both males and females, exposure to negative behaviours at home and school were associated with elevated rates of workplace bullying.

Author Biography

William J. Fielding, University of The Bahamas

Director, Institutional Strengthening & Accreditation

References

Anjum, A., Muazzam, A., Manzoor, F., Visvizi, A., Pollock, G., & Nawaz, R. (2019). Measuring the scale and scope of workplace bullying: An alternative workplace bullying scale. Sustainability, 11(17), 4634. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11174634

Bahamas Department of Statistics. (2019). Table 1: University of the Bahamas graduates by degree, division and sex, school year, 2018-2019. Labour Market Information Newsletter, 32(43), 1. https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/55f2328c-b71c-41f4-9bfa-a699fb3000a9/NEWSLETTER+2018-2019+WORD+SHEET.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Bahamas Department of Statistics. (2019, December). Preliminary results: Labour force survey, New Providence [Press release]. https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/6cbfd694-837f-49e5-9e69-94cc51bb8799/FOR+PRESS+RELEASE_Labour+Force+Survey+December+2019.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Bahamas Investment Authority. (2011). Economic environment. https://tinyurl.com/BahamasInvestmentAuthority2011

Bahamas National Task Force for Gender-based Violence. (2015). Strategic plan to address gender-based violence. Ministry of Social Services and Community Development. https://www.bahamas.gov.bs/wps/wcm/connect/3be7c3ad-862c-4c0f-ac44-a2833552e00b/GBV+REPORT.Final.+August2015.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

Baldry, A. C. (2003). Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence. Child Abuse & Neglect, 27(7), 713-732. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(03)00114-5

Bethel, N., & Fielding, W. J. (2020). Consent prior to sexual intercourse. [Manuscript submitted for publication]. Social Sciences, University of The Bahamas.

Bittersweet end to summer. (2011, August 17). Nassau Guardian. https://thenassauguardian.com/2011/08/17/bittersweet-end-to-summer/

Campanini, P., Punzi, S., Carissimi, E., & Gilioli, R. (2006). Le differenze di genere nelle situazioni di mobbing [Gender differences in workplace bullying]. La Medicina del Lavoro, 97(5), 699–706. http://hdl.handle.net/2434/51233

Clark, C. M., Landrum, R. E., & Nguyen, D. T. (2013). Development and description of the Organizational Civility Scale (OCS). Journal of Theory Construction & Testing, 17(1), 11-17. https://tinyurl.com/y2e92o7e

Cowie, H., Naylor, P., Rivers, I., Smith, P. K., & Pereira, B. (2002). Measuring workplace bullying. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 7(1), 33-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(00)00034-3

The crime of bullying. (2014, August 7). Caribbean DevTrends. https://blogs.iadb.org/caribbean-dev-trends/en/crime-bullying/

de Smet, P., Sans, S., Dramaix, M., Boulenguez, C., de Backer, G., Ferrario, M., Cesana, G., Houtman, I., Isacsson, S. O., Kittel, F., Ostergren, P. O., Peres, I., Pelfrene, E., Romon, M., Rosengren, A., Wilhelmsen, L., & Kornitzer, M. (2005). Gender and regional differences in perceived job stress across Europe. European Journal of Public Health, 15(5), 536–545. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cki028

Devonish, D. (2013). Job demands, health, and absenteeism: Does bullying make things worse? Employee Relations, 36(2), 165-181. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2013-0011

Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., & Notelaers, G. (2009). Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: Validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. Work & Stress, 23(1), 24-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370902815673

Fazio, M. V., & Pinder, E. (2014). In pursuit of employable skills: Understanding employers’ demands: Analysis of the Bahamas’ 2012 wages & productivity survey. Inter-American Development Bank. https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/In-Pursuit-of-Employable-Skills-Understanding-Employers-Demands-Analysis-of-the-Bahamas-2012-Wages-and-Productivity-Survey.pdf

Ferguson, I. (2012, July 2). Workplace bullying undermines firms. The Tribune. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2012/jul/02/workplace-bullying-undermines-firms/

Fielding, W. J. (2014). The impact of college graduates on Bahamian society: With emphasis on graduates from The College of The Bahamas. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 20(2), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v20i2.209

Fielding, W. J. (2019). Perceptions of crime and safety in The Bahamas. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.17410.43204

Fielding, W. J., & Ballance, V. C. (2019). Learning gender-based attitudes in The Bahamas. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 25, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v25i0.339

Fielding, W. J., Ballance, V. C. F., Strachan, I. G. (2016). Violence in The Bahamas. University of The Bahamas/Media Enterprises. https://www.dloc.com/AA00078778/00002

Fielding, W. J., Ballance, V. C., Smith, P., Veyrat-Pontet, A., & Sutton, H. (2019). Our prisoners. A collection of papers arising from a 2016 survey of inmates at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services facility at Fox Hill. Inter-American Development Bank. https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Our_Prisoners_A_Collection_of_Papers_Arising_from_a_2016_Survey_of_Inmates_at_The_Bahamas_Department_of_Correctional_Services_Facility_at_Fox_Hill_en_en.pdf

Hanna, C. (2020, January 13). When will the bullying stop? [Letter to the Editor]. The Tribune. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/jan/13/letters-when-will-bullying-stop/

Hanna, C. A. (2017). Solutions to the murder problem. National Anti-Drug Secretariat, Ministry of National Security. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00061956/00001

Hartnell, N. (2015, December 15). Bahamas ‘must get it right first time’ on tourism value. The Tribune. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2015/dec/16/bahamas-must-get-it-right-first-time-tourism-value/

Illing, J., Thompson, N., Crampton, P., Rothwell, C., Kehoe, A., & Carter, M. (2016). Workplace bullying: Measurements and metrics to use in the NHS: Final report for NHS employers. Newcastle University School of Medical Education. https://www.nhsemployers.org/~/media/Employers/Documents/Campaigns/NHS_Employers_Bullying_Measures_Final_Report.pdf

Lenhard, W. & Lenhard, A. (2016). Computation of effect sizes. Psychometrica. https://www.psychometrica.de/effect_size.html

Lewis, D., Sheehan, M., & Davies, C. (2008). Uncovering workplace bullying. Journal of Workplace Rights, 13(3), 281-301. https://doi.org/10.2190/WR.13.3e

Martin, M., (2019, October 27). When adults bully adults, kids suffer [Letter to the Editor]. http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/letter-to-the-editor/Melissa_Martin_When_adults_bully_adults_kids_suffer63687.shtml

Nielsen, M. B., Hetland, J., Matthiesen, S. B., & Einarsen, S. (2012). Longitudinal relationships between workplace bullying and psychological distress. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 38(1), 38-46. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41508862

Nielsen, M. B., Matthiesen, S. B., & Einarsen, S. (2010). The impact of methodological moderators on prevalence rates of workplace bullying: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(4), 955-979. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X481256

Notelaers, G., & Einarsen, S. (2013). The world turns at 33 and 45: Defining simple cutoff scores for the Negative Acts Questionnaire–Revised in a representative sample. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 22(6), 670-682. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2012.690558

Notelaers, G., Van der Heijden, B., Guenter, H., Nielsen, M. B., & Einarsen, S. V. (2018). Do interpersonal conflict, aggression and bullying at the workplace overlap? A latent class modeling approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1743. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01743

Ohene, S. A., Ireland, M., McNeely, C., & Borowsky, I. W. (2006). Parental expectations, physical punishment, and violence among adolescents who score positive on a psychosocial screening test in primary care. Pediatrics, 117(2), 441-447. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-0421

Onuoha P., Drayton-Bailey, A., Dais, R., James-Fough, C., Sherma Hinneh, D., Alphonso-Lootawan, A., & Ezenwaka, C. (2014). Registered nurses’ workplace bullying experiences at a Caribbean teaching hospital. Asian Academic Research Journal of Multidisciplinary, 20(1), 206-222. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266308019_Registered_Nurses'_Workplace_Bullying_Experiences_at_a_Caribbean_Teaching_Hospital

Ranger, N. (2018, May 14). Police advice: From playgrounds to the workplace - tackling the bullies. The Tribune. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/may/14/police-advice-playgrounds-workplace-tackling-bulli/

Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2015). Workplace bullying: A tale of adverse consequences. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience, 12(1-2), 32–37. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4382139/pdf/icns_12_1-2_32.pdf

Singh, R. (2018). The moderating role of workplace bullying in the embeddedness- turnover intention relationship. Journal of Organisation & Human Behaviour, 7(4): 14-21. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Riann_Singh/publication/336035567_The_Moderating_Role_of_Workplace_Bullying_in_the_embeddedness_-_turnover_intention_relationship/links/5de6aa5792851c83645fbfe9/The-Moderating-Role-of-Workplace-Bullying-in-the-embeddedness-turnover-intention-relationship.pdf

Strachan, R. (2012, October 4). Political bullying. [Letter to the Editor]. The Nassau Guardian. https://thenassauguardian.com/2012/10/04/political-bullying/

Sutton, H., & Álvarez, L. (2016). How safe are Caribbean homes for women and children? Attitudes toward intimate partner violence and corporal punishment. Inter-American Development Bank. https://doi.org/10.18235/0000546

Theorell, T., Hammarström, A., Aronsson, G., Bendz, L. T., Grape, T., Hogstedt, C., Marteinsdottir, I., Skoog, I., & Hall, C. (2015). A systematic review including meta-analysis of work environment and depressive symptoms. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 738. https://doi.org/10.186/s12889-015-1954-4

Tonini, S., Lanfranco, A., Dellabianca, A., Lumelli, D., Giorgi, I., Mazzacane, F., Fusi, C., Scafa, F., & Candura, S. M. (2011). Work-related stress and bullying: Gender differences and forensic medicine issues in the diagnostic procedure. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology (London, England), 6(1), 29. https://doi.org/10.1186/1745-6673-6-29

Trépanier, S. G., Fernet, C., & Austin, S. (2013). Workplace bullying and psychological health at work: The mediating role of satisfaction of needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. Work & Stress, 27(2), 123-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2013.782158

Tuckey, M. R., & Neall, A. M. (2014). Workplace bullying erodes job and personal resources: Between-and within-person perspectives. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(4), 413-424. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037728

Turns, B. A., & Sibley, D. S. (2018). Does maternal spanking lead to bullying behaviors at school? A longitudinal study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(9), 2824-2832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1129-x

Van Dyck, S. E. (2013). Horizontal workplace aggression and coworker social support related to work-family conflict and turnover intentions. [Master’s thesis, Portland State University]. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.652

Vartia, M. A. (2001). Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 27(1), 63-69. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.588

Vega, G., & Comer, D. R. (2005). Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can break your spirit: Bullying in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 58(1-3), 101-109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-005-1422-7

Waschgler, K., Ruiz-Hernández, J. A., Llor-Esteban, B., & Jiménez-Barbero, J. A. (2013). Vertical and lateral workplace bullying in nursing: Development of the hospital aggressive behaviour scale. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28(12), 2389–2412. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260513479027

Zabrodska, K., & Kveton, P. (2013). Prevalence and forms of workplace bullying among university employees. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 25(2), 89-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10672-012-9210-x

Downloads

Published

2020-10-23

How to Cite

Fielding, W. J. (2020). Bullying in the Bahamian Workplace. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 26, 13–32. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v26i0.355