The introduction of information and communication technologies in the workplace has extended the scope of bullying behaviors at work to the online context. However, less is known about the role of situational factors in encouraging cyberbullying behavior in the workplace. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of perceived organizational politics in fueling cyberbullying in the workplace, and to examine the central role of negative emotions in this process. The sample comprised 279 faculty members of three large (...) public sector universities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Results demonstrated that perceived organizational politics was positively associated with discrete negative emotions of anger and fear. Moreover, results indicated that anger was positively associated with cyberbullying perpetration, whereas fear was positively associated with face-to-face bullying victimization. Results also supported the idea that victims of face-to-face bullying may develop a positive attitude toward cyberbullying and retaliate against their more powerful face-to-face bullies online, possibly anonymously. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating that both forms of bullying can co-occur in the workplace as a consequence of perceived organizational politics, and the two roles—bully and victim—may be swapped among victims and perpetrators. (shrink)

It is no secret that employees leave their organizations because of bad managers- but what about the good ones? How can researchers and organizations differentiate individuals in terms of the interpersonal skills needed to perform well in the managerial role? Although these are fundamentally important questions to organizational psychologists, there exists no conceptual model, definition, or measure of interpersonal skills specific to the managerial role. We address these questions and research gaps by developing a conceptual model and validating a concomitant (...) measure of managerial interpersonal skills through a research program that included four studies across three phases: First, through a review of the literature and structured interviews with practicing managers; next, three quantitative studies in which we develop, refine and validate our MIPS scale; and finally, in a fourth validation study with matched supervisor-employee data from a large healthcare organization. Results suggest that MIPS are best represented by a three-dimensional model comprised of supporting, motivating and managing conflict all indicating a higher-order latent MIPS factor. Results also indicate the MIPS Scale predicts job attitudes and performance among both employees and managers above and beyond personality traits and leader-member exchange, as well as constructs closely related to MIPS, such as social support and conflict management style. (shrink)