Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T04:14:51.544Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The changing role of the nation-state and regulation: Workplace bullying legislation in The Netherlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Premilla D’Cruz ,
Roelie Mulder ,
Ernesto Noronha ,
Niels Beerepoot  and
Slawek Magala
Premilla D’Cruz*
Affiliation:
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India
Roelie Mulder
Affiliation:
Zeeland County Council, The Netherlands
Ernesto Noronha
Affiliation:
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India
Niels Beerepoot
Affiliation:
Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Slawek Magala
Affiliation:
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands
*
Premilla D’Cruz, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380015, Gujarat, India. Email: pdcruz@iima.ac.in
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Workplace bullying literature has focused mainly on actions of individual targets of mistreatment, undertaken to address the problem, and on analyses of the effectiveness of responses. Less attention has been paid to the efficacy of state regulation in establishing a climate of prevention as well as redress. We examine the role of the Dutch Working Conditions Act as a means of mitigating workplace bullying from the perspective of legislative intention, processes and outcomes. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders involved in creating, influencing and implementing the Act are analysed thematically to highlight how contextual, employer and phenomenon-specific factors affect the effectiveness of legislation with regard to workplace bullying. The findings indicate that state involvement, organisational commitment and collective action are all important contributors in reducing workplace bullying, but that even in the context of neoliberalism, the role of the nation-state is of critical importance, notwithstanding initiatives by employers.

Keywords

J58J78J81M54Anti-bullying legislationcopingDutch Working Conditions Actlabour inspectorsneoliberalismstatetargetsunions
Type
Job quality and security: do laws work?
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 30 , Issue 1: Symposia: Post-Crisis Rebuilding: Job Quality, Job Security and the Law , March 2019 , pp. 77 - 98
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arthurs, HW (2008) Corporate self-regulation: political economy, state regulation and reflexive labour law. In: Bercusson, B, Estlund, C (eds) Regulating Labour in the Wake of Globalisation: New Challenges, New Institutions. Oxford: Hart, pp. 19–36.Google Scholar
Barrientos, S, Smith, S (2007) Do workers benefit from ethical trade? Assessing codes of labour practice in global production systems. Third World Quarterly 28(4): 713–729.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beale, D, Hoel, H (2011) Workplace bullying and the employment relationship: exploring questions of prevention, control and context. Work, Employment & Society 25(1): 5–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackett, A (2001) Global governance, legal pluralism and the decentered state: a labour law critique of codes of corporate conduct. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 8(2): 401–447.Google Scholar
Bohle, P, Knox, A, Noone, J, et al . (2017) Work organisation, bullying and intention to leave in the hospitality industry. Employee Relations 39(4): 446–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boonstra, K, Keune, M, Verhulp, E (2012) Trade Union Responses to Precarious Employment in the Netherlands. Amsterdam: AIAS, University of Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Boselie, P (2009) A balanced approach to understanding the shaping of human resource management in organizations. Management Revue 20(1): 90–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, D, Di Martino, V (2006) Violence at Work. Geneva: ILO.Google Scholar
Cobb, EP (2017) Workplace Bullying and Harassment: New Developments in International Law. New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crabtree, BF, Miller, WL (1992) Doing Qualitative Research. London: SAGE.Google Scholar
Creswell, JW (1998) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
D’Cruz, P (2015) Depersonalized Bullying at Work. New Delhi, India: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D’Cruz, P (2018) Workplace Bullying in India. New Delhi, India: Routledge.Google Scholar
D’Cruz, P, Noronha, E (2010) The exit coping response to workplace bullying: the contribution of inclusivist and exclusivist HRM strategies. Employee Relations 32(2): 102–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D’Cruz, P, Noronha, E (2012) Clarifying my world: identity work in the context of workplace bullying. The Qualitative Report 17(8): 1–29.Google Scholar
D’Cruz, P, Noronha, E (2018) Target experiences of workplace bullying on online labour markets: uncovering the nuances of resilience. Employee Relations 40(1): 139–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
D’Cruz, P, Noronha, E, Beale, D (2014) The workplace bullying-organizational change interface: emerging challenges for human resource management. International Journal of Human Resource Management 25(10): 1434–1459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Beer, P, Keune, M (2017) Dutch unions in a time of crisis. In: Lehndorff, S, Dribbusch, H, Schulten, T (eds) Rough Waters European Trade Unions in a Time of Crises. Brussels: ETUI, pp. 221–244.Google Scholar
De Leede, J, Looise, JK, Riemsdijk, M (2004) Collectivism versus individualism in Dutch employment relations. Human Resource Management Journal 14(1): 25–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dutch Working Conditions Act (n.d.) Dutch Working Conditions Act. Available at: https://www.arboineuropa.nl/en/legislation/wetgeving-in-het-engels (accessed 2 May 2014).Google Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G (1996) After the golden age? Welfare state dilemmas in a global economy. In: Esping-Andresen, G (ed.) Welfare States in Transition: National Adaptations in Global Economies. New Delhi, India: SAGE, pp. 1–31.Google Scholar
Gall, G (2009) Union organising – past, present and future. In: Gall, G (ed.) The Future of Union Organising: Building for Tomorrow. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanley, GM, O’Rourke, A (2016) The race without a finishing line: legislative means for confronting bullying in the Australian workplace. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 54(3): 352–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrington, S (2010) Workplace bullying through the eyes of human resource practitioners: a Bourdieusian analysis. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth.Google Scholar
Hartman, Y (2005) In bed with the enemy: some ideas on the connections between neoliberalism and the welfare state. Current Sociology 53(1): 57–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoel, H, Beale, D (2006) Workplace bullying, psychological perspectives and industrial relations: towards a contextualized and interdisciplinary approach. British Journal of Industrial Relations 44(2): 239–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoel, H, Einarsen, S (2010) Shortcomings of anti-bullying regulations: the case of Sweden. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 19(1): 30–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hubert, A (2003) To prevent and overcome undesirable interaction. In: Einarsen, S, Hoel, H, Cooper, C (eds) Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice. London: Taylor & Francis, pp. 299–311.Google Scholar
Hubert, A (2012) Support, informing and aftercare by co-workers in The Netherlands: the role of the confidential supporter. In: Tehrani, N (ed.) Workplace Bullying: Symptoms and Solutions. New York: Taylor & Francis, pp. 181–195.Google Scholar
International Labour Organization (ILO) (2018) Reports of the Standard-Setting Committee on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work: Summary of Proceedings. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/ilc/ILCSessions/107/committees/violence-harassment/WCMS_631807/lang–en/index.htm (accessed 18 October 2018).Google Scholar
Ironside, M, Seifert, R (2003) Tackling bullying in the workplace: the collective dimension. In: Einarsen, S, Hoel, H, Cooper, C (eds) Bullying and Emotional Abuse in the Workplace: International Perspectives in Research and Practice. London: Taylor & Francis, pp. 383–398.Google Scholar
Kalleberg, AL (2009) Precarious work, insecure workers: employment relations in transition. American Sociological Review 74(1): 1–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karatuna, I (2015) Targets’ coping with workplace bullying: a qualitative study. Qualitative Research in Organisations and Management: An International Journal 10(1): 21–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kloosterboer, D (2007) Innovative Trade Union Strategies. Amsterdam: Stichting FNV Pers.Google Scholar
Kochan, TA, Katz, HC, McKersie, RB (1986) The Transformation of American Industrial Relations. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Krefting, L (1991) Rigour in qualitative research: the assessment of trustworthiness. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 45(3): 214–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kus, B (2006) Neoliberalism, institutional change and the welfare state: the case of Britain and France. International Journal of Comparative Sociology 47(6): 488–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lippel, K (2010) The law of workplace bullying: an international overview. Comparative Labour Law and Policy Journal 32(1): 1–14.Google Scholar
Lippel, K, Quinlan, M (2011) Regulation of psychosocial risk factors at work: an international overview. Safety Science 49(4): 543–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lippel, K, Cox, R (2018) Regulation as intervention: how regulatory design can affect practices and behaviours in the workplace. In: D’Cruz, P, Noronha, E, Caponecchia, C, et al . (eds) Dignity and Inclusion at Work. Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment, vol 3. Singapore: Springer, pp. 1–22. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-5338-2_8-1.Google Scholar
Liu, W, Dicken, P (2006) Transnational corporations and obligated embeddedness: foreign direct investment in China’s automobile industry. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 38(7): 1229–1247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Looise, JK, Drucker, M (2003) Dutch works councils in times of transition: the effects of changes in society, organizations and work on the position of works councils. Economic and Industrial Democracy 24(3): 379–409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miles, MS, Huberman, AM (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
Neilson, J, Pritchard, B, Yeung, HW (2014) Global value chains and global production networks in the changing international political economy: an introduction. Review of International Political Economy 21(1): 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, MB, Tangen, T, Idsoe, T, et al . (2015) Post-traumatic stress disorder as a consequence of bullying at work and at school: a literature review and meta-analysis. Aggression and Violent Behaviour 21(1): 17–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noronha, E, Beale, D (2012) India, neo-liberalism and union responses: unfinished business and protracted struggles. In: Gall, G, Wilkinson, A, Hurd, R (eds) The International Handbook of Labour Unions: Responses to Neo-Liberalism. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 167–186.Google Scholar
Noronha, E, D’Cruz, P (2016) Creating space: the role of the state in the Indian IT-related offshoring sector. In: Flecker, J (ed.) Space, Place and Global Digital Work. London: Palgrave, pp. 151–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noronha, E, D’Cruz, P (2017) The world of work in contemporary India: the relevance of a critical lens. In: Noronha, E, D’Cruz, P (eds) Critical Perspectives on Work and Employment in Globalizing India. Singapore: Springer, pp. 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noronha, E, Sharma, RN (1999) Displaced workers and the withering of the welfare state. Economic and Political Weekly 34(23): 1454–1460.Google Scholar
Noronha, E, Chakraborty, S, D’Cruz, P (2018a) ‘Doing dignity work’: Indian security guards’ interface with precariousness. Journal of Business Ethics. Epub ahead of print 22 August. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-3996-x.Google Scholar
Noronha, E, D’Cruz, P, Banday, MUL (2018b) Navigating embeddedness: experiences of Indian it suppliers and employees in the Netherlands. Journal of Business Ethics. Epub ahead of print 21 November. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-018-4071-3.Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2018) Labour – Trade union. OECR. Available at: https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TUD (accessed 20 September 2018).Google Scholar
Patton, MQ (1990) Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
Peetz, D (2002) Decollectivist strategies in Oceania. Relations Industrielles/Industrial Relations 57(2): 252–281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quinlan, M (2007) Organisational restructuring/downsizing, OHS regulation and worker health and wellbeing. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 30(4–5): 385–399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quinlan, M, Sheldon, P (2011) The enforcement of minimum labour standards in an era of neo-liberal globalisation: an overview. Economic and Labour Relations Review 22(2): 5–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramsay, S, Troth, A, Branch, S (2011) Work-place bullying: a group processes framework. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 84(4): 799–816.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reknes, I, Einarsen, S, Pallesen, S, et al . (2016) Exposure to bullying behaviors at work and subsequent symptoms of anxiety: the moderating role of individual coping style. Industrial Health 54(5): 421–432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rhodes, C, Pullen, A, Vickers, MH, et al . (2010) Violence and workplace bullying: what are an organization’s ethical responsibilities? Administrative Theory and Praxis 32(1): 96–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, A (2015) The state, institutional frameworks and the dynamics of capital in global production networks. Progress in Human Geography 39(3): 290–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stringer, C, Hughes, S, Whittaker, DH, et al . (2016) Labour standards and regulation in global value chains: the case of the New Zealand fishing industry. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 48(10): 1910–1927.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thirlwall, A (2015) Organisational sequestering of workplace bullying: adding insult to injury. Journal of Management and Organisation 21(2): 145–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Touwen, JL (2014) Coordination in Transition: The Netherlands and the World Economy: 1950–2010. Leiden: Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winstanley, D, Woodall, J (2000) The ethical dimension of human resource management. Human Resource Management Journal 10(2): 5–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zapf, D, Gross, C (2001) Conflict escalation and coping with workplace bullying: a replication and extension. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology 10(4): 497–522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar