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Individualism, employee’s power distance, inclusive leadership and workplace bullying (Master thesis)

Στεργιοπούλου, Μαρία/ Stergiopoulou, Maria

Workplace bullying has been a major issue in business for the past few decades, which affects the performance of employees and the well-being of the organization they work for. Limiting the phenomenon is a challenge for businesses, especially in environments with specific cultural values. The purpose of this research is to create a conceptual model that will explore the association of workplace bullying with inclusive leadership, a leadership style that emphasizes the inclusion of diversity and participation. Taking into consideration Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory, the study examines how individualism and power distance relate to bullying. The model also incorporates the factor of employee voice, which can help identify work bullying incidents and the effectiveness of inclusive leadership. The investigation of the above factors assesses their influence on employee performance. The research uses quantitative data collected from 155 workers in various job sectors in Greece. The research results showed the importance of inclusive leadership in standing up against workplace bullying and developing employee voice, which has a positive effect on employee performance. Although high power distance exacerbates incidents of violence, this is not confirmed in the case of individualism, which on the contrary, appears to have a positive effect on employee performance. It is therefore concluded that Greek businesses need the creation of a supportive environment that will directly address inequalities, intimidating behaviors and provide support to their workforce.