Interventions in workplace bullying: A multilevel approach

This article investigates intervention strategies in workplace bullying which have so far received little attention from researchers. Until now the focus has been on approaches to classifying intervention strategies, the appropriateness of mediation as an intervention strategy and ways different organizations respond to workplace bullying. This study prefers a qualitative design and employs a new empirical approach. Consultants who have specialized in bullying consultation were interviewed and asked which intervention strategies they apply and for what reason and to what purpose the strategies are adopted. It is found that consultants apply conflict moderation or mediation, coaching, and/or organization development. This is interesting as the dominating contingency approach to conflict intervention (Fisher Keasly, 1990; Glasl, 1982; Prein, 1984) recommends neither coaching nor organization development. Based on Heames and Harvey's (2006) multilevel model of bullying, this article therefore suggests a new approach, a multilevel approach of interventions in workplace bullying that considers interventions at the dyadic, group and organizational level.