Emotional Abuse in the Workplace

Abstract Violence and harassment in the workplace have garnered substantial public and research attention in the past decade. Most attention has been focused on the more extreme forms of physical violence such as homicide and, to a lesser degree, sexual and racial harassment in the workplace. However, recent surveys of workplaces suggest there is another form of violence that is more frequent, has similar effects as physical, sexual, and racial violence, yet appears to be more socially acceptable. Emotional abuse is the term coined in this review to capture the hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors that are not explicitly tied to sexual or racial content yet are directed at gaining compliance from others. Examples of these behaviors include yelling or screaming, use of derogatory names, the “silent treatment,” withholding of necessary information, aggressive eye contact, negative rumors, explosive outbursts of anger, and ridiculing someone in front of others. Despite increasing public awareness, systematic research has been slow in coming. This article reviews the currently available research literature in an effort to identify what is known and what questions are still unanswered. Theoretical propositions are derived from researchers' definitions of abuse and examined with respect to workplace abuse research and other literatures (e.g., occupational stress, destructive criticism, sexual harassment). Additional areas of target responses and antecedent conditions for emotional abuse are also explored. Discussion throughout the review emphasizes future directions for research and the implications for organizational policies and prevention/intervention efforts.