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Are Bullying Behaviors Tolerated in Some Cultures? Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship Between Workplace Bullying and Job Satisfaction Among Italian Workers

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Abstract

Since the early 1990s, increasing attention has been paid to the impact of workplace bullying on employees’ well-being and job attitudes. However, the relationship between workplace bullying and job satisfaction remains unclear. This study aims to shed light on the nature of the bullying-job satisfaction relationship in the Italian context (n = 1,393 employees from different organizations). As expected, the results revealed a U-shape curvilinear relationship between workplace bullying and job satisfaction after controlling for demographic variables. In contrast to the curvilinear model, the results support a negative linear relationship between workplace bullying and psychological well-being, in which higher exposure to negative acts at work is associated with diminished well-being. In addition, gender and job position significantly predicted mental health scores where men and managers reported a better psychological well-being than women, blue-collar, and white-collar employees. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed according to these results.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge Mindy Krischer Shoss and the two anonymous reviewers for advice and comments on the manuscript. J. M. Leon-Perez would also like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for their financial support (Strategic Project PEst-OE/EGE/UI0315/2011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Università Europea di Roma, 190 Via degli Aldobrandeschi, 00163, Rome, Italy

    Gabriele Giorgi

  2. Business Research Unit, ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon, Avda. Forças Armadas, 1649-026, Lisbon, Portugal

    Jose M. Leon-Perez

  3. Department of Social Psychology, University of Seville, Calle Camilo Jose Cela, 41018, Seville, Spain

    Alicia Arenas

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  1. Gabriele Giorgi
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  2. Jose M. Leon-Perez
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  3. Alicia Arenas
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Correspondence to Gabriele Giorgi.

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Giorgi, G., Leon-Perez, J.M. & Arenas, A. Are Bullying Behaviors Tolerated in Some Cultures? Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship Between Workplace Bullying and Job Satisfaction Among Italian Workers. J Bus Ethics 131, 227–237 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2266-9

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