Multifactor leadership styles and new exposure to workplace bullying: a six-month prospective study.
This study investigated the prospective association between supervisor leadership styles and workplace bullying. Altogether 404 civil servants from a local government in Japan completed baseline and follow-up surveys. The leadership variables and exposure to bullying were measured by Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised, respectively. The prevalence of workplace bullying was 14.8% at baseline and 15.1% at follow-up. Among respondents who did not experience bullying at baseline (n=216), those who worked under the supervisors as higher in passive laissez-faire leadership had a 4.3 times higher risk of new exposure to bullying. On the other hand, respondents whose supervisors with highly considerate of the individual had a 70% lower risk of new exposure to bullying. In the entire sample (n=317), passive laissez-faire leadership was significantly and positively associated, while charisma/inspiration, individual consideration, and contingent reward were negatively associated both after adjusting for demographic and occupational characteristics at baseline, life events during follow-up, and exposure to workplace bullying at baseline. Results indicated that passive laissez-faire and low individual consideration leadership style at baseline were strong predictors of new exposure to bullying and high individual consideration leadership of supervisors/managers could be a preventive factor against bullying.
Department of Hygiene, School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Japan; Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
Kanami
K
Tsuno
Norito
N
Kawakami
D000328:Adult; D058445:Bullying / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006077:Government Agencies / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace / Q000458:organization & administration