University of New Mexico
Department of Communication & Journalism
UNM Lobo  
Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik , Ph.D.
 Ph.D., University of Arizona, 2005
 Office: Room 236
 plutgen@unm.edu
Associate Professor 
Communication 

Research:
I currently study the issues of workplace bullying and employee emotional abuse, particularly the impact of abuse at work on targets and the ways in which employees resist bullying. I am currently working on projects to explore the impact of one family member's abuse at work on the other family members and their relationships, impact of bullying on identity, and how people make sense of the experience. My approach is interpretive/critical in nature and predominantly focused toward employee-advocacy rather than organizational productivity, although these are certainly not mutually exclusive. Furthermore, I strongly adhere to a collaborative action inquiry/participative action research perspective in which academics work with organizational stakeholders to "grow" workplace systems and communication that ease workplace tensions, improve interpersonal interactions, and enhance individual and organizational performance (i.e., reduce/bullying and aggression). As such, I am interested in appreciative inquiry, positive organizational scholarship, and further exploring positive interactions in organizations based on a strengths perspective of improving human systems. I fundamentally believe that our best efforts to make workplaces more humane will be through exploring, underscoring and building upon worker, workgroup, and organizational strengths rather than focusing all our energy on problems or weaknesses.

Sample Publications:

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P., & Sypher, B. D. (Eds.). (2009). Destructive organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Namie, G., & Namie, R. (2009). "Workplace bullying: Causes, consequences, and corrections." In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. D. Sypher (Eds.), Destructive organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing. (pp. 27-52). New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2008). "Intensive remedial identity work: Responses to workplace bullying as trauma and stigma." Organization Special Issue (Managing Identities in Complex Organizations), 15(1), 97-119.

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Tracy, S.J., & Alberts, J.K. (2007). "Burned by Bullying in the American Workplace: A Study of U.S. Prevalence and Delineation of Bullying 'Degree'." Journal of Management Studies. September.

  • McDermott, V.M. & Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (forthcoming). "Communicating subtle messages: Creating hostile and supportive environments." In B. Brushan (Ed.), Communication in Perspectives. Amani: Germany.

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (January, 2007). "How Employees Fight Back Against Workplace Bullying." Communication Currents, 2(1). http://www.communicationcurrents.com/. National Communication Association.
  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2007). "But words will never hurt me: Abuse and bullying at work, a comparison between two worker samples." Ohio Communication Journal, 45, 27-52.

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Tracy, S. J., & Alberts, J. K. (2007). "Burned by bullying in the American workplace: Prevalence, perception, degree, and impact." Journal of Management Studies, 44(6), 835-860.

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2006). "Take This Job and: Quitting and Other Forms of Resistance to Workplace Bullying." Communication Monographs, 73, 406-433.

  • Tracy, S. J., Lutgen-Sandvik, P. & Alberts, J.K. (2006). "Nightmares, Demons and Slaves: Exploring the Painful Metaphors of Workplace Bullying." Management Communication Quarterly.

  • Lutgen-Sandvik, P. (2003). "The cycle of employee emotional abuse: Generation and regeneration of workplace mistreatment." Management Communication Quarterly, 16, 471-501.

  • A complete list is available at her cv site.

Methods:
My perspective as rooted in an interpretive perspective. As such, I predominantly use qualitative methods in my research. However, there are many questions that can only be answered using quantitative approaches, so I adapt methodologies to suit the topic of interest and the research questions/project at hand. I am particularly interested in focus group research, in-depth interviewing, and ethnographic/participant observation approaches. The latter is particularly enlightening for the exploration of employee resistance to abuse by organizational powerholders, since this type of bottom-up change generally occurs over an extended period of time. On the other hand, I am invested in measuring the prevalence of bullying in the U.S. workplace and exploring the impact of bullying on family dynamics, human health, and social functioning.

Teaching:
My beliefs about teaching, and what makes someone a good teacher, are grounded in my beliefs about how all human beings should treat one another. Teaching necessarily engages the emotions of actors. It means challenging learners to answer questions like: What is the contribution you will make to the world? What difference will you make in the lives of those you touch? How can I, as a teacher, assist in your learning journey? My teaching style is, in many ways, rooted in my beliefs and training as a social worker. Students are most successful when they can focus on and build upon their strengths rather than "work on" their weaknesses. I believe their greatest room for growth is in the area of their greatest strengths. I focus first on what I want students to achieve in class and second on how that can be done with the talents available to students. Last, and equally as important as the rest, I love to laugh and want to have fun during the process.

Service:
My service to the department includes three years as the faculty senator and serving on a number of department committees (e.g., M.A. applications, faculty merit, faculty advisory committee, etc.). At the disciplinary level, I currently serve as WSCA Organizational Communication Interest Group secretary, have been a paper reader for NCA and WSCA for the past three years, and, as previously mentioned, am a board member and the treasurer of the International Association on Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace. Additionally, I have reviewed manuscripts for Management Communication Quarterly; Communication Yearbook; Communication Monographs; and Gender, Work and Organizations and refereed proposals for workplace bullying service grants in New Zealand and substance abuse treatment grants in Albuquerque, N.M.

My grant writing experience is extensive, having served as the CEO of two grant-funded not-for-profit organizations prior to entering academia (see CV link on my homepage: http://www.unm.edu/~plutgen/). I have also received two research grants; the first was as a student at Arizona State. In 2007 I received one of only two Dean’s Summer Research Grants for junior faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences at UNM. These funds provided resources for editing/writing the Destructive Organizational Communication book. On a personal note, I have a great sense of humor, have a well-developed sense of empathy, make friends readily, and am an excellent parliamentarian (if needed). I am direct but thoughtful, helpful, organized, and driven to excellence and success.

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