ILPC 2027

It is well documented in contemporary studies that a significant life domain for many people is their life at work (Russell 2008, Blustein 2008) and that experiences at work exert a significant effect on subjective well being. Subjective well being can in turn affect ‘in’ work factors such as job satisfaction and job performance, and also have an effect on more general outcomes such as physical and psychological health.  

A particular aspect of working life that has increasingly drawn attention in recent years is that of workplace bullying (Salin 2008, O’Connell et al 2007). Research in this area has found that bullying or negative acts (Einarsen et al 2003) can result in negative outcomes for individuals from a well being perspective (Parent-Thirion et al. 2007) and also for organisations in terms of engagement, attachment, climate and performance (MacMahon et al 2009).

This paper draws these themes together in the context of the Irish University sector. Some studies have already looked at the prevalence of bullying in Universities (Ó Súilleabháin and Harvey, 2010, IES, 2005). This study uses the broader measure of ‘negative acts’ as developed by einarsen et al. and seeks to firstly establish the perecieved level of these acts among university staff. We then look to analyse the outcomes and effects on the respondents.

Methodology

A quantitative research design was employed. The data was collected using a questionnaire which was developed by the research team. The questionnaire covered the following areas: demographic details of respondents, negative acts at work, experience of bullying, observation of negative acts, effects of bullying/negative acts on victims, actions taken by victims and observers, awareness of the University’s Dignity and Respect Policy, possible reasons for taking/not taking formal action, outcomes of actions and questions on job security and workload issues. The questions on negative acts at work are from the validated Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ), which has been used worldwide. The NAQ was developed by Einarsen et al (1994) and they have given permission to the investigators to use it. The questionnaire was distributed via surveymonkey to Unite’s membership of 650. Responses were received from 252 members, representing a response rate of 38.7%.

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