Staff more likely to be bullied in regional universities

The Conversation 24 October 2015

A study of more than 22,000 university staff shows that academics in regional universities were more likely to experience bullying compared to those at other types of universities, writes Timothy Charles Skinner for The Conversation.

The survey, which looked at working life in 19 different universities across Australia, was set up to test whether the anecdotal complaints of colleagues at regional universities was anything more than the traditional complaints of academics about freedom, autonomy and managerialism. This was the first study of its kind to look at bullying across a range of Australian universities.

Overall, 28% of academics reported being bullied, with 12% saying the bullying they experienced was serious enough to consider taking a formal case. The rate of bullying varied a lot across different types of universities with one-third (36%) of academic staff at the four regional universities reporting being bullied, 1.5 times more than in the five Group of Eight – the most prestigious – universities. Disturbingly, 42% of staff at one regional university said they had been bullied. Academics reported being publicly humiliated, excluded, intimidated and discriminated against.
Full report on the ABC News site

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