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Investigating Workplace Bullying Using a Person-Centered Approach: Capturing Targets' Exposure and Sense of
Sarah-Geneviève Trépanier1, Guy Notelaers2, Morten Birkeland Nielsen2,3
1Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Canada.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
|March 28, 2026
Summary
Workplace bullying involves both exposure to harassment and feelings of defenselessness. Understanding these combined profiles is crucial for identifying at-risk employees and mitigating negative outcomes like exhaustion and job dissatisfaction.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Occupational Health Psychology
Background:
- Workplace bullying research often overlooks the critical role of defenselessness, focusing primarily on exposure.
- Victimization from bullying is influenced by both harassing behaviors and an individual's feelings of helplessness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between employee profiles of exposure to workplace bullying behaviors and their corresponding defenselessness profiles.
- To identify distinct groups of employees based on their experiences of bullying and their psychological responses.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study utilizing latent profile analysis on data from 491 employees.
- Examined the interplay between four identified exposure profiles (no, rare, occasional, work isolation) and four defenselessness profiles (no, low, moderate, specific).
Main Results:
- Four distinct exposure profiles and four defenselessness profiles were identified, showing strong overlap in membership.
- The 'occasional exposure' and 'moderate defenselessness' profile reported the most adverse outcomes (victimization, exhaustion, job dissatisfaction).
- Employees with rare exposure but moderate defenselessness experienced worse outcomes than those with low defenselessness, and work isolation also proved harmful.
Conclusions:
- Organizations must address both exposure to bullying and employee defenselessness to prevent negative outcomes.
- Recognizing specific defenselessness profiles, particularly in cases of work isolation, is essential for targeted interventions.
- A person-centered approach reveals nuanced interactions between bullying exposure and defenselessness, impacting employee well-being and job satisfaction.
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