Unmasking the influence of employees' coping strategies on workplace bullying

Abstract

Bullying is known to impair employees' emotional state; however, the employees' coping strategies used to manage stress may contribute to employees' emotional state and their exposure to workplace bullying. Hence, drawing from the Cognitive Theory of Stress and Coping and the Three-Way Model of Workplace Bullying, our study hypothesized a link between coping strategies and exposure to workplace bullying. We proposed that active coping (problem-oriented and seeking support) is negatively related to workplace bullying exposure, while passive coping (avoidance-oriented) is positively associated with bullying exposure. Emotional exhaustion was posited to mediate this association by decreasing the effect of the active and increasing the passive strategy. Results from employing PLS-SEM on data from 440 participants indicated that avoidance-oriented coping influences bullying exposure and emotional exhaustion positively. Problem-oriented coping mitigates emotional exhaustion with no impact on bullying exposure. While problem-oriented coping negatively affects emotional exhaustion, it demonstrates no effect on bullying exposure. The discussion delves into theoretical insights, practical implications, and paths for future research.