Educators’ Experiences with Bullying Behavior and Their Perceptions of Work-Related Psychosocial Factors: Values at the Workplace and the Meaning of Work

The aim of the study is to compare perceptions of work-related psychosocial factors as workplace values (vertical and horizontal trust, justice, and respect) and the meaning of work among educators (teachers and social pedagogues) with different experiences of bullying behavior. A quantitative exploratory research design was employed. The sample consists of Estonian teachers (N = 445, purposive sample) and social pedagogues (N = 172, representative sample) who completed a self-report questionnaire on bullying experiences and the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II version (COPSOQ II) to assess work-related psychosocial factors. For data analysis, a CFA was conducted to assess the proposed factor structure for the present sample and a Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn’s post hoc test was conducted. The results show that 73.6% of educators had personal history with bullying behavior, and different personal pathways of bullying involvement tended to shape their current perceptions of workplace values (trust, justice and respect) and meaning of work. Both teachers and social pedagogues who had experienced victimization at school and at work reported the lowest levels of workplace values compared to educators with different experiences or without bullying experiences. Educators who have been victimized at work perceive lower levels of meaning of work compared to other study groups.