Affiliation:
1. Assistant Professor, School of Management Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi, Kerala, India
2. Professor, School of Business, Albany State University, Albany, GA, USA
Abstract
This article attempts to explore the prevalence, forms and responses to workplace bullying through a gendered lens using the theory of gendered organisation and gender role socialisation theory. The study is conducted among faculty in higher education institutions in India, and the article also discusses the context of new managerialism prevalent in higher education institutions. Adopting, interpretive phenomenological analysis, data are collected from 13 respondents using semi-structured in-depth interviews. The data reveal that workplace bullying in higher education institutions is gendered. The five major themes identified are the prevalence of bullying, gender differences in types of bullying, gender and leadership position, gender and responses to bullying and gender roles and reasons for bullying. The article contributes at micro level, the influence of gender in academics on the level of bullying, the types of bullying techniques preferred by them, and the variation in their behavioural reactions. This study broadens the perspective of workplace bullying in higher education institutions through the concepts of gender, culture and new managerialism.