The moderating effects of psychological detachment and thoughts of revenge in workplace bullying

Bernardo Moreno-Jiménez, Alfredo Rodriguez-Munoz, Juan Carlos Pastor, Ana Sanz Vergel, Eva Garrosa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

82 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Bullying at work has been receiving an increasing amount research attention as an important social stressor in work contexts. In contrast to existing research, which has concentrated overwhelmingly on work related predictors of bullying, to date, there is a lack of studies focusing on individual moderators of the experience of bullying. The aim of the present study is to examine the moderating role of psychological detachment and thoughts of revenge on the workplace bullying process. To minimize the effect of common method variance, we tested our hypothesis using a research design in which we collected data at two points in time separated by 1 month. A total of 523 individuals responded to both phases, with 511 useable surveys. Results revealed that psychological detachment moderated the relationship between (1) role conflict and workplace bullying and between (b) bullying and psychological strain. Thoughts of revenge moderated the relationship role conflict and bullying. These findings fit well into cognitive activation theory of stress.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)359-364
Number of pages5
JournalPersonality and Individual Differences
Volume46
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2009

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