Daily interpersonal conflicts and daily exposure to bullying behaviors at work: The moderating roles of trait anger and trait anxiety

Lena Zahlquist, Jørn Hetland, Ståle V. Einarsen, Arnold B. Bakker, Øystein L. Hoprekstad, Roar Espevik, Olav K. Olsen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Building on the three-way model of workplace bullying and its underlying theories, this study investigates the role of trait anger and trait anxiety in the link between daily interpersonal conflicts and daily exposure to bullying behaviors. Using a quantitative diary study design, we approached 57 military naval cadets participating in a tall-ship voyage across the Atlantic, from Europe to North America, in 2017. They responded to a questionnaire on a daily basis over a period of 30 days—yielding 1428 measurement points. Prior to the voyage, participants also responded to a general questionnaire including measures of trait anger and trait anxiety. As hypothesized, multilevel analyses showed positive main effects of daily interpersonal conflicts on interpersonal conflicts the next day and exposure to bullying behaviors the same day. However, daily involvement in interpersonal conflicts did not predict exposure to bullying behaviors the next day. Moreover, and in support of the hypothesized moderating effects, trait anger (but not trait anxiety) interacted positively with daily interpersonal conflicts in the prediction of interpersonal conflicts the next day as well as exposure to bullying behaviors the same day. The study suggests that interpersonal conflicts persist and have an immediate effect on exposure to bullying behaviors and that this is particularly the case for individuals high (vs. low) on trait anger. We discuss how these findings contribute to the three-way model of workplace bullying, as well as possible practical implications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)893-914
Number of pages22
JournalApplied Psychology
Volume72
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023

Keywords

  • interpersonal conflicts
  • trait anger
  • trait anxiety
  • workplace bullying

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
  • Applied Psychology

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