Perceived severity of various bullying behaviours at work and the relevance of exposure to bullying

In this study, perceptions of the severity of various bullying behaviours in the workplace are investigated. The main aims are (1) to obtain the assessments of workers regarding the severity of the various types of behaviour that constitute bullying (psychological abuse), and (2) to examine whether the degree of involvement with the phenomenon (represented by three different groups: Victims, witnesses and employees with no previous experience of bullying) influences the severity assessments. A sample of 300 workers from various branches of four organizations in Spain (191 women and 109 men aged between 21 and 66 years) completed a questionnaire. The results showed that assessments of the perceived severity of the different types of bullying behaviour varied. Bullying behaviours fell into six categories, with various types of emotional abuse proving to be perceived as the most severe category. Moreover, the results showed that there was no significant difference in the perceived severity of bullying behaviour among victims, witnesses and employees without previous experience of bullying. The consequences of these results and how they can influence theory, future research and practice are discussed. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.