Workplace Bullying, Article Critique Example

Summary

The goal of the study was to examine whether and how emotional experiences from workplace bullying could mediate the most essential organizational constructs, such as commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to leave (Glaso & Notelaers, 2012). The affective events theory served as both the basis for the development of statistical models and the object of empirical analysis. Glaso and Notelaers (2012) collected self-reported data from 5,520 respondents working in 12 different organizations in Belgium. The results of statistical analyses confirm that affective experiences mediate organizational outcome variables, such as organizational commitment and job satisfaction, in relation to workplace bullying. While workplace bullying leads to a considerable increase in respondents’ negative emotions, their positive emotions sensibly decrease, reducing their organizational commitment and job satisfaction and strengthening the intention to leave (Glaso & Notelaers, 2012).

Methodological Considerations

One of the chief methodological strengths is the use of complex statistical analyses that lend greater credibility to the study results. Quantitative methods are claimed to limitpotentially negativeeffects of subjectivity and researcher bias on the quality of empirical findings. However, Glaso and Notelaers (2012) note that their methodological approach has two essential limitations. First, self-reported questionnaires can limit the validity of the research findings, due to potential bias (Glaso & Notelaers, 2012). Second, the use of cross-sectional study designs does not allow analyzing the direction of causality in the relationship among multiple variables within the statistical model developed by Glaso and Notelaers (2012). Here, the problem of generalizability should also be considered: Glaso and Notelaers (2012) recognize the fact that their highly heterogeneous sample is still not representative of Belgian workforce. Moreover, the results of the study may not be generalizable to other cultural contexts, such as countries beyond Belgium. These methodological issues justify the need for future studies with a different sample and in a different cultural and employment setting.

References

Glaso, L. & Notelaers, G. (2012). Workplace bullying, emotions, and outcomes. Violence and Victims, 27(3), 360-377.