Skip Navigation



BJSW Advance Access published online on February 3, 2009
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcp003
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by van Heugten, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved

Bullying of Social Workers: Outcomes of a Grounded Study into Impacts and Interventions

Kate van Heugten

Dr Kate van Heugten is Head of the School of Social Work and Human Services, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She pursues research projects and writes about the many issues that impact on social work practitioners, ranging from workplace stress and violence, to macro socio-economic changes and their implications for the organization of work.

Correspondence to Kate van Heugten. Email: kate.vanheugten{at}canterbury.ac.nz


  Abstract

Workplace bullying has become recognized as a costly workplace problem that may be relatively common in the human services. However, the topic remains underexplored with respect to social workers. In the absence of discipline-specific information, relying on data derived from research with other professions can lead to untested assumptions about causes and about appropriate interventions. A qualitative study was undertaken with seventeen social workers who reported that they had been bullied in the workplace. Whilst participants had experienced significant distress and reported at least a temporary decline in work-related confidence, most considered themselves wiser as a result of their experiences and did not perceive a lasting diminishment of their professional opportunities. There were, however, exceptions to this positive outcome and these appeared to be related to discrimination against participants with minority group status. Grounded analysis led to explanatory theories that locate bullying in the context of stressful changing workplaces in which professional people experience status uncertainty, and compete for job control and respect. Conversely, prevention and intervention require the adoption of health-promoting organizational policies that foster supportive working environments and relationships.

Keywords: Social workers, workplace, bullying, social support, bystanders


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.