What is Cultural-Historical Activity Theory

Workplace cyberbullying and online harassment are ongoing problems requiring organizational intervention. This chapter utilizes cultural-historical activity theory as a lens to examine organizational activities. Organizational activities establish the productive norms of the workplace which produce and reproduce objects that serve the needs of an organization. By examining the framework of the workplace, organizational leaders and policymakers can more effectively create prevention policies. Activities are broken down into six interrelated parts: tools, subjects, objects, rules, communities of practice, and divisions of labor. The author argues the motivations of individual actors and the motivations of the organization as key pressure points requiring further analysis in order to foster proactive, preventative workplace bullying policy and the development of positive organizational communicative norms.