Antecedents of Workplace Bullying Experienced by Temporary Employees in Higher Education

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22688678

Gontse Hosea Modipane¹, Maluka Harriet Rivalani², and Mabasa Fumani Donald³ (Department of Business Management, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa^1,2 and Department of Industrial Psychology and People Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa³)

The study investigated the antecedents of bullying behaviour experienced by temporary employees in a higher education context. A qualitative research approach was employed to probe antecedents of workplace bullying. The population consisted of all temporary employees at a selected higher education institution in South Africa. Purposive sampling and snowball sampling were used and 20 interviews were conducted. Thus, the study used semi-structured interviews to collect data. The thematic analysis technique was used to analyse the collected data, which yielded five themes. These themes are as follows: (1) Vulnerability of temporary employees; (2) Abuse of authority and exploitation; (3) Workplace isolation and marginalisation; (4) Lack of institutional support and accountability; and (5) Exclusion from professional development and career advancement opportunities. The study contributes to the literature by recommending that higher education institutions should develop clear and inclusive anti-bullying policies, prioritise support systems for temporary employees and ensure equal treatment between permanent and temporary employees, as well as hosting awareness and training programs to prevent and address workplace bullying.