Orientation: Worldwide, bullying in the workplace is recognised as a sensitive and psychologically destructive issue. It has a detrimental effect on employee well-being, organisations’ productivity and employee relations. As a vital link between different constituencies in the organisation, human resource practitioners struggle in their attempts to address and manage workplace bullying. Research purpose: The aim of this article was to describe the challenges that human resource practitioners face when being tasked with addressing workplace bullying. Motivation for the study: Concern about human resource practitioners’ capacity to manage situations of workplace bullying requires a better understanding of their role in and perspective of the bullying phenomenon. Research approach/design and method: A constructivist, grounded theory research design was used to explore the perspectives of nine human resource practitioners on workplace bullying. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews to gain insight into and understanding of their experiences of bullying in the workplace. Main findings: Paradoxical role demands, lack of decision-making power and their perceived lack of support from policy and management disable the human resource practitioners’ functionality in addressing workplace bullying. Practical/managerial implications: The study identifies dilemmas that human resource practitioners face, impeding their capacity to address workplace bullying effectively. Findings highlight the practical value of empowering such practitioners in the role they play in dealing with workplace bullying situations. Contribution/value-add: The present study contributes to the limited body of knowledge on human resource practitioners’ perspectives on workplace bullying within the South African context.

中文翻译：

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Buridan的屁股综合症：工作场所欺凌中的人力资源从业者的困境

方向：全球范围内，在工作场所中的欺凌行为被认为是一个敏感且具有心理破坏性的问题。它对员工的福祉，组织的生产力和员工关系产生不利影响。作为组织中不同支持者之间的重要纽带，人力资源从业者在努力解决和管理工作场所欺凌行为方面遇到了困难。研究目的：本文的目的是描述人力资源从业者在应对工作场所欺凌时所面临的挑战。研究动机：对人力资源从业者管理工作场所欺凌情况的能力的关注，需要更好地了解他们在欺凌现象中的作用和视角。研究方法/设计与方法：建构主义者，扎实的理论研究设计用于探讨9名人力资源从业者对工作场所欺凌的观点。通过半结构化访谈收集数据，以深入了解和了解他们在工作场所遭受欺凌的经历。主要发现：矛盾的角色要求，决策权的缺乏以及他们认为缺乏政策和管理的支持，使人力资源从业者在解决工作场所欺凌问题上的功能丧失了。实际/管理方面的影响：该研究确定了人力资源从业人员面临的困境，从而阻碍了他们有效解决工作场所欺凌行为的能力。调查结果凸显了赋予这些从业者在应对工作场所欺凌情况中所扮演的角色的实际价值。贡献/增值：