EXPLORING AND INVESTIGATING WORKPLACE BULLYING IN THE NIGERIAN WORKPLACES

OLUWAKEMI ADEWUMI; ROSEMARY DANESI

OLUWAKEMI ADEWUMI Department of Employment Relations & Human Resource Management Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos
ROSEMARY DANESI Department of Employment Relations & Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Lagos.

Keywords: Workplace bullying, Negative Effects, Organisation, Culture, Power Relations, Policies

Abstract

The need to examine workplace bullying in Nigeria has become paramount, given the various reports on some of the negative consequences of workplace bullying on the victims and the organisation at large. With the increase in awareness of the negative effects of workplace bullying on the health of workers, this research aims at investigating and exploring the concept, within the general practices and interactions amongst employees in the workplace. Data were randomly collected across various organisations, sectors, and locations within the Nigerian work setting. The study examined different types of workplace bullying experiences among Nigerian workers using a single validated instrument, the Negative Acts Questionnaire, Revised (NAQ-R) developed by Einarsen and Cooper (2001), and measuring the effects of the 23 Negative behavioursitemised on the respondents. A factor analysis was conducted using the 23 Negative Behaviours employees are likely to be exposed to and the effects of such behaviours on the respondents. The results were variously re-labeled into Individual Bullying, On the Job/Job Related Bullying, Ostracism, and victimization. It was observed that employees experienced diverse forms of bullying and the phenomenon has become part of the culture in most of the organisations. Also, the majority of the respondents reported that workplace bullying affected them negatively. The paper concludes that there is widespread bullying in most organisations which adversely affects their workers, suggesting that awareness should be created concerning this negative behaviour.