Citation

Sumner EM, Scarduzio JA, Daggett JR. J. Interpers. Violence 2016; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Trinity University, San Antonio, TX, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260516681158

PMID

27920361

Abstract

This study examines the portrayal and affective framing of workplace bullying behaviors on the popular American television show The Office Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted on 54 episodes spanning the show's nine seasons.

RESULTS revealed 331 instances of workplace bullying, for an average of 6.13 bullying behaviors per episode. Workplace bullying behavior on The Office was grouped into five categories: sexual jokes, public humiliation, practical jokes, belittlement, and misuse of authority. In general, instances of workplace bully were scripted as humorous and lacking significant consequences, which could further contribute to social discourses that perpetuate the problem of bullying in real-life workplaces.

© The Author(s) 2016.

Language: en