Validation of the Workplace Bullying Spectrum Scale: A Study of the Congolese Higher Education Sector

Purpose: This study aimed to validate a newly developed scale measuring workers’ perception of the workplace bullying spectrum which considered multiple facets of the phenomenon beyond the NAQ and its revised version. Methodology: 948 academics and support staff were selected using a proportional stratified sampling from 17 private and public Congolese higher education institutions based in Kinshasa who volunteered to participate in the study. They responded to an auto-administered closed-ended questionnaire, including the NAQ-R, experience, channels of occurrence, identity characteristics of perpetrators and victims, and management attitude and response in relation to workplace bullying. EFA and CFA were used to test the hypotheses about reliability, convergent and discriminant validity of the scale, and the model fit of the measurement scale. Results: The results displayed a good model-fit comprising nine structure factors as underlying dimensions of WPBS. All measurement scales were reliable and valid in terms of convergence and divergence. Practical implications: The developed WPBS scale can be a useful tool for holistically apprehending multiple facets of workplace bullying in order to elaborate policies and interventions to curb the issue. Originality: The study contributed to the literature on workplace bullying in general and closed the gap in the under-researched Congolese context. It can also serve leadership and HR management in designing policies and interventions to tackle workplace bullying.