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The Communicative Cycle Of Employee Emotional Abuse

Generation and Regeneration of Workplace Mistreatment

Arizona State University

Employee emotional abuse (EEA) is repetitive, targeted, and destructive communication by more powerful members toward less powerful members in the workplace. It is costly, widespread, and may be the precursor to workplace aggression and violence. This article synthesizes extant research findings with the author’s own managerial experience into a comprehensive gestalt of EEA as a communicative process that evolves, escalates, and moves to new targets when earlier targets exit the organization. The model proposed depicts a six-stage cycle that provides a means for (a) understanding the dynamics of abuse, (b) recognizing the indicators of abuse, (c) controlling or stopping the abuse, and (d) predicting the development of unchecked abuse. Practical implications of the model and areas for future research are identified.

Key Words: employee emotional abuse • workplace bullying • mobbing • verbal abuse • job harassment • injustice • aggression

Management Communication Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 4, 471-501 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/0893318903251627


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