Discursive Construction of the Difficult Coworker

• In Event: Can You Make Me Happy? Bullying, Leadership, and Satisfaction

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to explore how individuals manage organizational relationships with difficult coworkers. Using Bormann’s conformity theory to ground the study, it was discovered that employees pressure difficult coworkers to conform to organizational norms while simultaneously engaging in discursive behaviors that actively push difficult coworkers to the margins of the organization. In this way a double bind was created, making it unlikely that difficult coworkers would successfully conform to organizational norms.

Authors

• Greg Armfield, New Mexico State Univ

• Debbie Dougherty, University of Missouri, Columbia