Informatics Publishing Limited

Abstract

This study was geared towards unearthing the prevalence and effect of bullying on the psyche and emotions of university workers in Ghana. Hitherto, nothing has been heard about how bullying affects individuals within these Ivory Towers although by word of mouth, the phenomenon is said to be occurring in most places. 139 respondents were sampled from selected universities in Ghana via a snowball approach. Data was subsequently collected from them using a structured questionnaire and the results were then tabulated and a Chi-Square test was used to test the significance of the relationship between experiencing bullying acts and the three variables. MANOVA as well as an independent T-Test were deployed to analyse the intervening effect of gender on the effect of bullying on the individual. The research findings corroborate many of the conclusions drawn in bullying. This study reveals clearly that university staff in Ghana who have experienced bullying behaviour had a significantly higher level of negative self-worth (depression, disempowerment (feeling of helplessness) and disrespect) than respondents who have not experienced bullying behaviour. This implies that bullying behaviour has significant influence on an individual’s self-worth. However, the findings from this study are given under a differentiated cultural background and a study of the influence of culture on the prevalence of bullying is forthright. Furthermore, a longitudinal survey is also encouraged to add knowledge of the long-term effect of bullying on university staff. The prevalence of workplace bullying in the nation’s universities should be further investigated and policies framed to ensure the psychological and physiological well-being of the nation’s knowledge workers and to secure the future of education in Ghana.

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