ABSTRACT
As described in previous chapters, workplace bullying involves persistent patterns of behaviour in which one or more individuals engage in actions intended to harm others (e.g. Hoel et al., 1999). It is our contention that bullying, although not identified as such, involves acts of interpersonal aggression – any form of behaviour directed towards the goal of harming or injuring another living being who is motivated to avoid such treatment (Baron and Richardson, 1994). While both phenomena involve actions that are intentional in nature, the persistence of aggression over time, evidenced in episodes of bullying, serves as a distinguishing characteristic. That is, while a single act of intentional harm-doing constitutes an act of aggression, it would not, by definition, constitute bullying. In short, and of central importance to the present chapter, we believe that workplace bullying involves repeated acts of interpersonal aggression directed against specific targets in work settings, or what we would refer to as workplace aggression – efforts by individuals to harm others with whom they work (Neuman and Baron, 1997a). Furthermore, we propose that anything that serves as an antecedent to aggression may contribute to – and increase the likelihood of – workplace bullying.
