Perceptions of Unfairness in the Management of Bullying Complaints: Exploring the Consequences

This exploratory study aimed to examine why some bullied workers submitted compensable injury claims for psychological injury after they had made a workplace bullying grievance, and others did not. This study was carried out using a mixed methodology. Forty-four participants who had complained about bullying at work completed a survey about their experiences, and 31 were interviewed. A thematic analysis of the interview data was undertaken. Those participants who submitted workers¡¯ compensation claims were found to be significantly more depressed than those who did not submit workers¡¯ compensation claims, although no significant differences were found between the anxiety and stress scores of all participants. Results also indicated that participants who submitted a workers¡¯ compensation claim perceived less organisational justice in the way their complaint of bullying was managed than those participants who did not submit a claim. These results were endorsed by the qualitative aspects of the study where themes of frustration and unfairness were closely linked with the decision to submit a workers¡¯ compensation claim. This is one of the few studies that have examined the effect of an organisation¡¯s response to workplace bullying allegations on an employee¡¯s decision to claim workers¡¯ compensation for psychological injury.