BULLYING AT WORK: AMBIGUOUS BEHAVIORS OR CLEAR INTENTIONS?

Abstract

Often depicted as incivility in the workplace, bullying
is both a social and a legal issue. This is especially true
when we consider the common characteristics of bullying. In order to investigate this narrow boundary, this
paper analyses final court of appeals decisions over
12 years. What constitutes a normal versus a bullying
situation is decided by the magistrate whose authority
helps to impose his/her decision. Our results emphasize that most bullying situations depend on four key
factors: sex and job position of the harasser and the
bullied, the trigger event, and the denounced behavior.
This typology helps to better understand the ways a
normal situation may deteriorate sharply until the bullying situation, punishable by law, emerges. The results
may help both lawyers and managers in their own respective activities determine whether an ambiguous
event qualifies as a bullying situation at work