A longitudinal investigation of workplace bullying, basic need satisfaction, and employee functioning.

Drawing on self-determination theory, this study proposes and tests a model investigating the role of basic psychological need satisfaction in relation to workplace bullying and employee functioning (burnout, work engagement, and turnover intention). For this study, data were collected at 2 time points, over a 12-month period, from a sample of 699 nurses. The results from cross-lagged analyses support the proposed model. Results show that workplace bullying thwarts the satisfaction of employees' basic psychological needs and fosters burnout 12 months later. In addition, when taking into account the cross-lagged effect of workplace bullying on employee functioning, basic need satisfaction fosters work engagement and hinders turnover intention over time. Implications for workplace bullying research and managerial practices are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.