Struggle Over Rights and Duties at Work: Storylines and Discursive Self-Other Positioning in Workplace Bullying Stories

Pekka Kuusela, Pasi Hirvonen and Luk Van Langenhove

SAGE Open, 2024, vol. 14, issue 3, 21582440241264729

Abstract: This study examines the phases and dynamics of workplace bullying (WB) as a social positioning phenomenon within moral orders. Applying the positioning theory (PT) and the relational model of WB, the study analyses 136 written online stories of WB, utilizing narrative analysis of positioning in self-other relationships. The findings, limited to the perspective of the bullied (targets), identify four distinct storylines of WB that involve different forms of positioning: (1) the loss of health and ability to work, (2) passive acceptance of bullying, (3) unresolved conflict, and (4) active opponent in bullying. These findings shed light on the development and variations in WB storylines regarding the target, perpetrator, and work community, with a focus on the organizational and interpersonal power dynamics associated with WB. Furthermore, each WB storyline emphasizes the diverse strategies employed in response to WB and the various paths WB can follow over time.

Keywords: positioning theory; workplace bullying; stories; conflict; qualitative study; malignant positioning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:14:y:2024:i:3:p:21582440241264729

DOI: 10.1177/21582440241264729

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