In the Eye of the Beholder: A Review of qualitative studies on workplace bullying

Workplace bullying is not a new phenomenon and has been studied by researchers for more than 25 years. Known for its ill effects on individuals and organizations, workplace bullying is considered to be a complex phenomenon which is subjective in nature, which may mean different to different individuals. However, the extant literature shows that the study on the phenomenon has been dominated by objectivist approach and plethora of studies using quantitative techniques can be found. Despite the popularity of positivist paradigm to study the said phenomenon, with increasing interest the need for an interpretive or post-modern approach was felt, hence the resultant rise in the number of qualitative studies during the recent past. This methodological shift calls for a review of literature to unravel the findings of qualitative studies done on workplace bullying which might have discovered new dimensions to the phenomenon which quantitative studies may have failed to unveil.