Cyberbullying within the workplace is a sad but common tendency that almost all employees face or will face when working. More specifically, females in the workplace. As time goes on, technology within the workplace evolves to the point in which physical communication is not needed as much. Since online communication is more common, this results in mediums such as phones, video calls, and the Internet overall being the key factor behind verbal and mental abuse in the workplace (Al Doghan 2023).
The idea behind cyberbullying are associated with social sciences as it pertains to the study of human behavior towards others through means of technology in the workplace. Psychological stress also is associated with social sciences through the entire idea behind psychology. Through the many fields of psychology, such as industrial and organization psychology, lie the explanation and understanding of human behavior in the workplace. The research showed different reasoning as to how the cyberbullying and workplace stress affected each employee. This can be related back to the term’s victimization and victim precipitation, as there are usually ways of preventing are halting that type of behavior so that you are not affected by it. In contrast with Al Doghan’s research, technology is the main cause of the present-day workplace bullying, stating that “Hence, cyberbullying can be characterized as a form of bullying that occurs through digital platforms, mirroring the characteristics of traditional bullying.” (Al Doghan 2023).
The methods that Al Doghan took to explain workplace bullying and stress were in the form of questionnaires. Essentially, Al Doghan used measurement tools in the form of questions or statements to determine how each employee within the company felt about their job. Most of the questions were based around the idea of cyberbullying, with statements such as “I have received messages that have a disrespectful tone” and “I had another organizational member copy people into messages that reflect negatively on me” (Al Doghan 2023). He also had statements that related to the commitment each employee had to the organization, psychological stress, and job satisfaction. A five-point scale for each statement was used to analyze each employee and their answers.
Within this research, it was clear that workplace cyberbullying was at the top of the list when it came to this organization. However, factors such as job satisfaction and interactional justice played a huge role in how each employee was victimized at one point or the other. Employees, mainly women, were not given equal opportunities, the same resources for their job, and equal treatment in multiple areas. Bringing back the term victim precipitation, this did not exert this term much as it is really against their will if they stay at this organization. The equalization of employees combined with bullying and cyberbullying create an organization that employees to not wish to partake in. This, in turn, creates an environment of unwanted stress and attention. Furthermore, due to job satisfaction and job commitment, certain factors pertaining to leaving the organization are equaled out with bullying and interactional justice, resulting in the employee staying (Al Doghan 2023).
Since there a very few studies in which females are studied when determining psychological stress within the workplace, this research contributes greatly to the job and female society. It also affects essentially anyone inside the workplace as it allows employees to understand why interaction justice goes hand and hand with workplace bullying. It highlights the struggles and the thought process of countless female employees within the workplace. The amount of psychological stress that pertains to women inside the workplace is something that needs to be changed and looked at. Job commitment and satisfaction should not be factors that completely undermine the unfair and injustice treatment that happens within the workplace.
References
Al Doghan, M. A. (2023). Cyberbullying and psychological stress among female employees. cybercrimejournal.com. https://cybercrimejournal.com/menuscript/index.php/cybercrimejournal/article/view/161/61