The Want, the rise, the fall

‘Undermining my performance at work, growing instances of incivility and constant humiliation and being labelled ‘aggressive’ each time there is confrontation, is what deters me from continuing as a school leader’, said the lady while talking in a forum. This coming from a lady working in such an organisation of repute and for so long a tenure. To top it all was the factor that she was a woman, felt she was targeted for her competency and knowledge and efficiency in achieving larger goals for the organisation. Having known her for years, I could vouch for her professional skills; but here was a person who was not only sexually discriminated but academically bullied.

The ‘want to go ahead’ in an academic setup cannot be overlooked and can lead to incivility and result in academic bullying. In an education set up, where hierarchies rule and all stakeholders follow hierarchy, provision to address academic bullying ceases to exist. Peers, supervisors, mentors, leaders, heads and directors co-exist in the hierarchical structure of a higher education system. In higher education lies the thrust for research, for high impact papers, for high management processes, for teaching and also for popularity and sign ups for courses taught. Hence the want for recognition, the greed for power and also the need to be popular rises.

An education ecosystem is a place where cultures blend, diversity is given importance to and working relations count to build the right attitude and mindset amongst the students who look unto the faculty as role models and mentors. Higher education ranking bodies also call for diversity not only from students but also of faculty. In such ecosystems, academic bullying if manifested by humiliation, exclusion, taunting, creating opinions or undermining of performance can result in extreme pressure in work and withdrawal of talent. Favouritism does exist in higher education institutions in India and this is something all of us have experienced even while attending universities as students. But favouritism leading to incivility can lead to academic bullying and this can be detrimental to the overall growth of an institution.

Is there an answer for why highly qualified people indulge in academic bullying? Goes back to the ‘want to dominate others’, to people who have low self esteem or feel inferior or who have no trust in themselves when they spot talent, people who struggle in their social life, people who have been victims of bullying or simply stupid, mean and jealous people. Can we stop them? The answer is a ‘yes’…. By seeking help, by talking it out, by standing up for what is right, understand that there is more to life than work,

As an organisation, it is the responsibility of the organisation to provide a safe workplace and place for wellbeing at work:

• Higher Education Institutions have policies and regulations for everything. A zero-tolerance approach and policy to stop academic bullying is a must, something akin to the defining of a code of sexual discrimination and harassment at work.
• A strong channel of communication with the Human Resources team
• Periodically reinforcing a strong organisation culture and conducting professional sessions on building healthy organisations
• Empowering people to talk and report
• Conduct meditation programmes
• Reminder that we are educators and need to create a positive work culture

Otherwise, anger, frustration, demotivation can lead to only failure of an organisation