A correlational analysis: Perceptions of workplace bullying and psychological empowerment among IT professionals

Workplace bullying reporting in the United States has steadily risen in the last twenty years. There is limited research in the United States on the prevalence and forms of workplace bullying in different work industry sectors and the information technology (IT) sector is one that is not represented in extant research on workplace bullying. This study investigated the prevalence of workplace bullying among IT professionals and the relationship between workplace bullying and psychological empowerment. The research study found that IT professionals are frequently exposed to workplace bullying and that psychological empowerment is negatively correlated to workplace bullying. The study also found that IT professionals are exposed to work-related forms of workplace bullying more frequently than personal forms of workplace bullying. IT professionals in the executive job type report less exposure to workplace bullying than IT professionals working in non-executive job types. The key findings of this study (a) provided the frequency and forms of exposure to workplace bullying by IT professionals and (b) determined the degree and direction of the relationship between workplace bullying and psychological empowerment in the IT work environment. The limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed.