Quine Workplace Bullying Scale – QWBS
Measures exposure to workplace bullying behaviors across professional, personal, social, and workload dimensions.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Quine Workplace Bullying Scale – QWBS was developed by L. Quine (1999). It is designed to measure Workplace Bullying. The scale is intended for use with Working adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 20 items organized into 5 factors/subscales: Threat to professional status, Threat to personal standing, Isolation, Overwork, Destabilization.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Threat to professional status | 1,2,3,4 | 4 |
| Threat to personal standing | 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 | 7 |
| Isolation | 12,13,14 | 3 |
| Overwork | 15,16 | 2 |
| Destabilization | 17,18,19,20 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Never, 1 = Rarely, 2 = Occasionally, 3 = Often, 4 = Very Often.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 80. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low exposure to bullying behaviors: 0 – 20
- Moderate exposure to bullying behaviors: 21 – 50
- High exposure to bullying behaviors: 51 – 80
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Threat to professional status (alpha = .93), Threat to personal standing (alpha = .78), Isolation (alpha = .94), Overwork (alpha = .26), Destabilization (alpha = .77).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.