ABSTRACT
The causes of bullying at work have been a ‘hot issue’ of debate in both the popular press and in the scientific community. While some argue that individual antecedents such as the personality of bullies and victims, indeed may be involved as causes of bullying (e.g. Coyne et al., 2000), others have disregarded totally the role of individual characteristics. Heinz Leymann (1993, 1996), one of the founders of bullying research, categorically claimed that organisational factors relating to the organisation of work and the quality of leadership behaviour were the main causes of bullying. He rejected the idea that the personal characteristics of the victim are capable of playing any part in the development of bullying at work. This standpoint is also strongly advocated by some victims of bullying and their organisational networks. Other victims and their spokespersons have claimed that bullying is mainly caused by the psychopathic personality of the bully (e.g. Field, 1996).
