Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Coping with Workplace Bullying Through Workplace Spirituality and Spiritual Traditions

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment

  • 111 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter focuses on two separate organizational issues namely workplace spirituality and workplace bullying. First, the workplace spirituality and spiritual relations will be investigated. Second, the possible role that workplace spirituality and spiritual traditions can play for the prevention of workplace bullying will be introduced with an emphasis on forgiveness which is one of the positive elements of workplace spirituality. Finally, the effect of forgiveness on the reduction of the impact of workplace bullying will be discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adams A, Crawford N (1992) Bullying at work. Virago Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Aquino K, Lamertz K (2004) A relational model of workplace victimization: social roles and patterns of victimization in dyadic relationships. J Appl Psychol 89(6):1023–1034

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashmos DP, Dutchmon D (2000) Spirituality at work. J Manag Inq 9(2):134–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell E, Taylor S (2004) From outward bound to inward bound’: the prophetic voices and discursive practices of spiritual management development. Hum Relat 57(4):439–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benefiel M (2003) Irreconcilable foes? The discourse of spirituality and the discourse of organizational science. Organization 10(2):383–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benefiel M (2005) The second half of the journey: spiritual leadership for organizational transformation. Leadersh Q 16(5):723–747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benefiel M, Fry LW, Geigle D (2014) Spirituality and religion in the workplace: history, theory, and research. Psychol Relig Spiritual 6(3):175–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berthelsen M, Skogstad A, Lau B, Einarsen S (2011) Do they stay or do they go? A longitudinal study of intentions to leave and exclusion from working life among targets of workplace bullying. Int J Manpow 32(2):178–193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Björkqvist K, Osterman K, Hielt-Bdck M (1994) Aggression among university employees. Aggress Behav 20(3):173–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bodia MA, Ali H (2012) Workplace spirituality: a spiritual audit of banking executives in Pakistan. Afr J Bus Manag 6(11):3888–3897

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowling NA, Beehr TA (2006) Workplace harassment from the victim’s perspective: a theoretical model and meta-analysis. J Appl Psychol 91(5):998–1012

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Branch S, Ramsay S, Barker M (2013) Workplace bullying, mobbing and general harassment: a review. Int J Manag Rev 15(3):280–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Case P, Gosling J (2010) The spiritual organization: critical reflections on the instrumentality of workplace spirituality. J Manag Spiritual Relig 7(4):257–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casey C (1999) “Come, join our family”: discipline and integration in corporate organizational culture. Hum Relat 52(1):155–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cavanagh GF (2003) Religion and spirituality in business: obstacles and opportunities. In: Williams OF (ed) Business, religion, and spirituality: a new synthesis. University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, pp 263–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen CY, Yang CF (2012) The impact of spiritual leadership on organizational citizenship behavior: a multi-sample analysis. J Bus Ethics 105(1):107–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen CY, Yang CY, LI CI (2012) Spiritual leadership, follower mediators, and organizational outcomes: evidence from three industries across two major Chinese societies. J Appl Soc Psychol 42(4):890–938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corner PD (2009) Workplace spirituality and business ethics: insights from an eastern spiritual tradition. J Bus Ethics 85(3):377–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Counts DA (1987) Female suicide and wife abuse: a cross-cultural perspective. Suicide Life Threat Behav 17(3):194–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danielz D, Franz RS, Wong K (2000) A classroom with worldview: making spiritual assumption explicit in management education. J Manag Educ 24(5):540–562

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darby BW, Schlenker BR (1982) Children’s reactions to apologies. J Pers Soc Psychol 43(4):742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis DE, Worthington EL Jr, Hook JN, Hill PC (2013) Research on religion/spirituality and forgiveness: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Relig Spiritual 5(4):233–241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dewe PJ, O’Driscoll MP, Cooper CL (2010) Coping with work stress: a review and critique. Wiley, Chichester

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Duchon D, Plowman DA (2005) Nurturing the spirit at work: impact on work unit performance. Leadersh Q 16(5):807–833

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einarsen S (1999) The nature and causes of bullying at work. Int J Manpow 20(1/2):16–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einarsen S, Nielsen MB (2015) Workplace bullying as an antecedent of mental health problems: a five-year prospective and representative study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 88(2):131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einarsen S, Raknes BI (1997) Harassment in the workplace and the victimization of men. Violence Vict 12(3):247–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Einarsen S, Hoel H, Zapf D, Cooper C (2011) The concept of bullying and harassment at work: the European tradition. In: Einarsen S, Hoel H, Zapf D, Cooper C (eds) Bullying and harassment in the workplace: developments in theory, research, and practice, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 3–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Fehr R, Gelfand MJ, Nag M (2010) The road to forgiveness: a meta-analytic synthesis of its situational and dispositional correlates. Psychol Bull 136(5):894–914

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan KS, Hoek KKV, Ranter JM, Reich HA (2012) The potential of forgiveness as a response for coping with negative peer experiences. J Adolesc 35(5):1215–1223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freshman B (1999) An exploratory analysis of definitions and applications of spirituality in the workplace. J Organ Chang Manag 12(4):318–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fry LW (2003) Toward a theory of spiritual leadership. Leadersh Q 14(6):693–727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fry LW, Slocum JW Jr (2008) Maximizing the triple bottom line through spiritual leadership. Organ Dyn 37(1):86–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fry LW, Vitucci S, Cedillo M (2005) Spiritual leadership and army transformation: theory, measurement, and establishing a baseline. Leadersh Q 16(5):835–862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fry LW, Hannah ST, Noel M, Walumbwa FO (2011) RETRACTED: impact of spiritual leadership on unit performance. Leadersh Q 22(2):259–270

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia–Zamor JC (2003) Workplace spirituality and organizational performance. Public Adm Rev 63(3):355–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giacalone RA, Jurkiewicz CL (2003) Handbook of workplace spirituality and organizational performance. Me Sharpe, Armonk

    Google Scholar 

  • Glambek M, Skogstad A, Einarsen S (2015) Take it or leave: a five-year prospective study of workplace bullying and indicators of expulsion in working life. Ind Health 53(2):160–170

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin BJ, Worthington EL Jr, Lavelock CR, Greer CL, Lin Y, Davis DE, Hook JN (2015) Efficacy of a self-forgiveness workbook: a randomized controlled trial with interpersonal offenders. J Couns Psychol 62(2):124–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guillroy WD (2000) The living organization: spirituality in the workplace. Innovations International Inc, Salt Lake City

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta M, Kumar V, Singh M (2014) Creating satisfied employees through workplace spirituality: a study of the private insurance sector in Punjab (India). J Bus Ethics 122(1):79–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hallberg LR, Strandmark MK (2006) Health consequences of workplace bullying: experiences from the perspective of employees in the public service sector. Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well Being 1(2):109–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave TD, Froeschle J, Castillo Y (2009) Forgiveness and spirituality: elements of healing in relationships. In: Walsh F (ed) Spiritual resources in family therapy, 2nd edn. Guilford Press, New York, pp 301–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Hauge LJ, Skogstad A, Einarsen S (2009) Individual and situational predictors of workplace bullying: why do perpetrators engage in the bullying of others? Work Stress 23(4):349–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hauge LJ, Skogstad A, Einarsen S (2010) The relative impact of workplace bullying as a social stressor at work. Scand J Psychol 51(5):426–433

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill PC, Pargament KI (2003) Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality: implications for physical and mental health research. Am Psychol 58(1):64–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoel H, Einarsen S (2010) Shortcomings of antibullying regulations: the case of Sweden. Eur J Work Organ Psychol 19(1):30–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoobler JM, Rospenda KM, Lemmon G, Rosa JA (2010) A within subject longitudinal study of the effects of positive job experiences and generalized workplace harassment on well-being. J Occup Health Psychol 15(4):434–451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houghton JD, Neck CP, Krishnakumar S (2016) The what, why, and how of spirituality in the workplace revisited: a 14-year update and extension. J Manag Spiritual Relig 13(3):177–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juergensmeyer M (2006) Thinking globally about religion. In: Juergensmeyer M (ed) The oxford handbook of global religions. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 3–14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Keashly L, Harvey S (2006) Workplace emotional abuse. In: Kelloway E, Barling J, Hurrell J Jr (eds) Workplace bullying: a review, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp 95–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim JJ, Enright RD (2016) “State and trait forgiveness”: a philosophical analysis and implications for psychotherapy. Spiritual Clin Pract 3(1):32–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krishnakumar S, Neck CP (2002) The “what”, “why” and “how” of spirituality in the workplace. J Manag Psychol 17(3):153–164

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leymann H (1990) Mobbing and psychological terror at workplaces. Violence Vict 5(2):119–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Leymann H (1996) The content and development of mobbing at work. Eur J Work Organ Psychol 5(2):165–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lips-Wiersma M, Lund Dean K, Fornaciari CJ (2009) Theorizing the dark side of the workplace spirituality movement. J Manag Inq 18(4):288–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lund Dean K, Safranski SR (2008) No harm, no foul? Organizational intervention in workplace spirituality. Int J Public Adm 31(4):359–371

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lynn ML, Naughton MJ, VanderVeen S (2009) Faith at work scale (FWS): justification, development, and validation of a measure of Judaeo-Christian religion in the workplace. J Bus Ethics 85(2):227–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macaskill A, Maltby J, Day L (2002) Forgiveness of self and others and emotional empathy. J Soc Psychol 142(5):663–665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathisen GE, Einarsen S, Mykletun R (2008) The occurrences and correlates of bullying and harassment in the restaurant sector. Scand J Psychol 49(1):59–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthiesen SB, Einarsen S (2007) Perpetrators and targets of bullying at work: role of stress and individual differences. Violence Vict 22(6):735–753

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCormick DW (1994) Spirituality and management. J Manag Psychol 9(6):5–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough ME (2000) Forgiveness as human strength: theory, measurement, and links to well-being. J Soc Clin Psychol 19(1):43–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCullough ME, Bellah CG, Kilpatrick SD, Johnson JL (2001) Vengefulness: relationships with forgiveness, rumination, well-being, and the Big Five. Personal Soc Psychol Bull 27(5):601–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meng XH, Tao FB, Wan YH, Yan U, Wang RX (2011) Coping as a mechanism linking stressful life events and mental health problems in adolescents. Biomed Environ Sci 24(6):649–655

    Google Scholar 

  • Milliman J, Czaplewski AJ, Ferguson J (2003) Workplace spirituality and employee work attitudes: an exploratory empirical assessment. J Organ Chang Manag 16(4):426–447

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitroff I, Denton E (1999a) A spiritual audit of corporate America: a hard look at spirituality, religion, and values in the workplace. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitroff II, Denton EA (1999b) A study of spirituality in the workplace. MIT Sloan Manag Rev 40(4):83–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Mongeau PA, Hale JL, Alles M (1994) An experimental investigation of accounts and attributions following sexual infidelity. Commun Monogr 61(4):326–344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore TW, Casper WJ (2006) An examination of proxy measures of workplace spirituality: a profile model of multidimensional constructs. J Leadersh Org Stud 12(4):109–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neal J (2013) Faith and spirituality in the workplace: emerging research and practice. In: Neal J (ed) Handbook of faith and spirituality in the workplace. Springer, New York, pp 3–18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Neuman JH, Baron RA (2005) Aggression in the workplace: a social-psychological perspective. In: Fox S, Spector P (eds) Counterproductive work behaviors. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, pp 13–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen MB, Einarsen S (2012) Outcomes of exposure to workplace bullying: a meta-analytic review. Work Stress 26(4):309–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen MB, Hetland J, Matthiesen SB, Einarsen S (2012) Longitudinal relationships between workplace bullying and psychological distress. Scand J Work Environ Health 38(1):38–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen MB, Nielsen GH, Notelaers G, Einarsen S (2015) Workplace bullying and suicidal ideation: a 3-wave longitudinal Norwegian study. J Inf 105(11):e23–e28

    Google Scholar 

  • Orcutt HK (2006) The prospective relationship of interpersonal forgiveness and psychological distress symptoms among college women. J Couns Psychol 53(3):350–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ortega A, Christensen KB, Hogh A, Rugulies R, Borg V (2011) One-year prospective study on the effect of workplace bullying on long-term sickness absence. J Nurs Manag 19(6):752–759

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pawar SB (2009) Individual spirituality, workplace spirituality and work attitudes: an empirical test of direct and interaction effects. Leadership Org Dev J 30(8):759–777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petchsawang P, Duchon D (2012) Workplace spirituality, meditation, and work performance. J Manag Spiritual Relig 9(2):189–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pilch I, Turska E (2015) Relationships between Machiavellianism, organizational culture, and workplace bullying: emotional abuse from the target’s and the perpetrator’s perspective. J Bus Ethics 128(1):83–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quine L (1999) Workplace bullying in NHS community trust: staff questionnaire survey. BMJ 318(7178):228–232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rayner C (1997) The incidence of workplace bullying. J Community Appl Soc Psychol 7(3):199–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rayner C, Hoel H, Cooper CL (2002) Workplace bullying: what we know, who is to blame, and what can we do? Taylor and Francis, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Rego A, Pina e Cunha M (2008) Workplace spirituality and organizational commitment: an empirical study. J Organ Chang Manag 21(1):53–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rego A, Pina E, Cunha M, Souto S (2007) Workplace spirituality, commitment, and self-reported individual performance: an empirical study. Manag Res J Iberoamerican Acad Manag 5(3):163–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez-Munoz A, Baillien E, De Witte H, Moreno-Jimenez B, Pastor JC (2009) Cross-lagged relationships between workplace bullying, job satisfaction and engagement: two longitudinal studies. Work Stress 23(3):225–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rye MS, Pargament KI, Ali MA, Beck GL, Dorff EN, Hallisey C, …, Williams JG (2000) Religious perspectives on forgiveness. In: McCullough ME, Pargament KL, Thoresen CL (ed) Forgiveness: theory, research, and practice. The Guilford Press, New York, pp 17–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Rye MS, Pargament KI, Pan W, Yingling DW, Shogren KA, Ito M (2005) Can group interventions facilitate forgiveness of an ex-spouse? A randomized clinical trial. J Consult Clin Psychol 73(5):880–892

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacco WP, Dumont CP, Dow MG (1993) Attributional, perceptual, and affective responses to depressed and nondepressed marital partners. J Consult Clin Psychol 61(6):1076–1082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salin D (2003) Ways of explaining workplace bullying: a review of enabling, motivating and precipitating structures and processes in the work environment. Hum Relat 56(10):1213–1232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sheep ML (2006) Nurturing the whole person: The ethics of workplace spirituality in a society of organizations. J Bus Ethics 66(4):357–375

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trépanier SG, Fernet C, Austin S (2015) A longitudinal investigation of workplace bullying, basic need satisfaction, and employee functioning. J Occup Health Psychol 20(1):105–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsang JA, McCullough ME, Hoyt WT (2005) Psychometric and rationalization accounts of the religion-forgiveness discrepancy. J Soc Issues 61(4):785–805

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tzouramani E, Karakas F (2016) Spirituality in management. In: de Souza M, Bone J, Watson J (eds) Spirituality across disciplines: research and practice. Springer, Cham, pp 273–284

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Van den Brande W, Baillien E, De Witte H, Vander Elst T, Godderis L (2016) The role of work stressors, coping strategies and coping resources in the process of workplace bullying: a systematic review and development of a comprehensive model. Aggress Violent Behav 29:61–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vartia MA (2001) Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying. Scand J Work Environ Health 27(1):63–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson H, Rapee R, Todorov N (2017) Forgiveness reduces anger in a school bullying context. J Interpers Violence 32(11):1642–1657

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Witvliet CVO, Ludwig TE, Laan KLV (2001) Granting forgiveness or harboring grudges: implications for emotion, physiology, and health. Psychol Sci 12(2):117–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worthington EL, Scherer M (2004) Forgiveness is an emotion-focused coping strategy that can reduce health risks and promote health resilience: theory, review, and hypotheses. Psychol Health 19(3):385–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worthington EL Jr, Berry JW, Parrott L III (2001) Unforgiveness, forgiveness, religion, and health. In: Plante TG, Sherman AC (eds) Faith and health: psychological perspectives. Guilford Press, New York, pp 107–138

    Google Scholar 

  • Zapf D (1999) Organisational, work group related and personal causes of mobbing/bullying at work. Int J Manpow 20(1/2):70–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapf D, Einarsen S (2011) Individual antecedents of bullying: victims and perpetrators. In: Einarsen S, Hoel H, Zapf D, Cooper CL (eds) Bullying and harassment in the workplace: developments in theory, research, and practice, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 177–200

    Google Scholar 

  • Zapf D, Gross C (2001) Conflict escalation and coping with workplace bullying: a replication and extension. Eur J Work Organ Psy 10(4):497–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapf D, Knorz C, Kulla M (1996) On the relationship between mobbing factors, and job content, social work environment, and health outcomes. Eur J Work Organ Psy 5(2):215–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zapf D, Escartín J, Einarsen S, Hoel H, Vartia M (2011) Empirical findings on prevalence and risk groups of bullying in the workplace. In: Einarsen S, Hoel H, Zapf D, Cooper CL (eds) Bullying and harassment in the workplace. Developments in theory, research, and practice, 2nd edn. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 75–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Zinnbauer BJ, Pargament KI, Scott AB (1999) The emerging meanings of religiousness and spirituality: problems and prospects. J Pers 67(6):889–919

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istanbul Aydın University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Bekir Emre Kurtulmuş

Authors
  1. Bekir Emre Kurtulmuş
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bekir Emre Kurtulmuş .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Woodbury University , North Hills, California, USA

    Satinder Dhiman

  2. Regent University , Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

    Gary Roberts

  3. University of South Australia , Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Joanna Crossman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Kurtulmuş, B.E. (2018). Coping with Workplace Bullying Through Workplace Spirituality and Spiritual Traditions. In: Dhiman, S., Roberts, G., Crossman, J. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Spirituality and Fulfillment. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61929-3_43-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61929-3_43-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-61929-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61929-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation