Workplace anger and aggression: informing conceptual models with data from specific encounters.

Area of Science:

• Organizational Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Occupational Health

Background:

• Traditional assessments of workplace aggression aggregate behaviors across incidents.
• This aggregation limits understanding of aggression dynamics within specific encounters.
• A nuanced understanding of workplace aggression requires examining individual incidents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the antecedents, behaviors, and outcomes of specific workplace aggression incidents.
• To explore the patterning of aggressive behaviors within an encounter.
• To investigate the relationship between aggression severity and employee outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from structured interviews and questionnaire reports.
• Focus on employee experiences as both targets and aggressors in specific incidents.
• Examination of perceived antecedents, aggressive behaviors, and outcomes.

Main Results:

• Identified organizational, job-related, and personal antecedents (e.g., job stress, conflicts).
• Observed an escalatory pattern in aggressive behaviors within encounters.
• Found a relationship between aggression severity and negative employee outcomes (e.g., dissatisfaction).

Conclusions:

• Workplace aggression is influenced by a range of factors and exhibits specific patterns within encounters.
• The severity of workplace aggression significantly impacts employee well-being and job satisfaction.
• Future research should consider incident-specific analyses for a deeper understanding of workplace aggression.