Staff are bullying their superiors in universities – Study

Bosses have been known to bully staff, but Australian universities are now reporting a rising trend in insubordination that involves staff bullying their superiors, writes Anna Patty for The Sydney Morning Herald.

La Trobe University researcher Dr Troy Heffernan and Lynn Bosetti from the University of British Columbia in Canada have identified a rising trend in a new form of harassment which involves disrespect and insubordination. Their paper published in the international peer-reviewed Cambridge Journal of Education, says ‘incivility’ can be as psychologically harmful on victims as traditional forms of bullying.

Their research found traditional patterns of bullying have been replaced “with victims enduring the accumulated impact of acts of varied disrespect such as negative comments, under the breath comments, intentionally misinterpreting instructions or spreading rumours, collectively known as incivility”. Spreading rumours about their superiors is part of a rising trend in university staff bullying.
Full report on The Sydney Morning Herald site