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Workplace bullying and interpersonal conflicts: the moderation effect of supervisor’s power / Acoso laboral y conflictos interpersonales: el papel moderador de las bases de poder del supervisor

2015; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 30; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/21711976.2015.1016753

1579-3680

Alicia Arenas, José Pérez, Lourdes Munduate, Francisco J. Medina,

Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Workplace bullying is considered the final stage of a prolonged conflict where there is a power imbalance between the affected parties and where emotional and relational problems exist. Thus, this study aims to explore the role of employee perceptions about the supervisor’s power bases on the relationship of conflict (i.e., task and relationship conflicts) and bullying at work. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted ( N = 211). Results support a moderated-mediation model in which relationship conflict mediates the association between task conflict and workplace bullying, suggesting a conflict escalation process in bullying situations. In addition, establishing personal power bases seems to reduce the intensity of the link between task conflict and relationship conflict and, in turn, workplace bullying, whereas establishing positional power bases was not related to this association. Practical implications for bullying prevention are discussed.