Characterizing Female Workplace Bullying via Social Media

Motivated by the #Metoo movement, we explore in this paper people’s perception of female bullying at workplace. We looked at #workplacebullying and found that 1) people were split between identifying the prevalence of workplace bullying against female and the view that such bullying simply does not exist and is a nuisance, 2) The tweets also showed the existence of psychological effects of cyberbullying, and 3) the tweets showed many intervention techniques that can minimize the effects of such bullying. We further explored the top three recurring hashtags mentioned under the #workplacebullying and found that the three top hashtags were #sexism, #feminism and #equality. Our results showed that the above hashtags represent the positive and negative approach to workplace bullying i.e. #feminism hashtag was mostly used by people who denied that workplace bullying against females exist while # sexism was mentioned as the prime cause by people who agree that such bullying exist. #equality overwhelmingly comprises of techniques to minimize workplace bullying against females.

When queen bees attack women stop advancing: recognising and addressing female bullying in the workplace

Purpose This paper aims to look at the implications of the “Queen Bee” syndrome in the workplace: its impact on women at work and the perception of women at work. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on the author’s practical experience, observations, and studies. Findings The Queen Bee syndrome can have a negative impact on organizational performance and bottom-line results as well as individuals. Research limitations/implications The author calls for more work to done in this area to raise awareness and provide solutions. Practical implications This paper offers insight to help managers and organizations assess how much the Queen Bee syndrome may be at work in their own organization. It also invites women to self-reflect on their own behaviors. Originality/value This paper highlights an issue that can be ignored in organizations – how negative woman-to-woman behavior and/or bullying can be detrimental to individual and organizational performance.