Intention to leave among bullied university personnel

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the degree of intention to leave and the relation between bullying and intention to leave, as well as the relation between features of the working environment and intention to leave among Estonian university personnel.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 864 faculty members from nine Estonian universities answered the e-mail questionnaire in the Spring of 2014. The nature of bullying was measured with the help of the Negative Acts Questionnaire. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire was applied in a survey of characteristics of the work environment. The relations were analysed with the help of structural equation modelling.

Findings

More than one third of the respondents had considered quitting sometimes, quite often, or very often. The results show that perceived bullying is a predictor of intention to leave, whereas a favourable working environment prevents quitting.

Research limitations/implications

The present results can be utilised from at least three perspectives: cultural and institutional studies, leadership practices and personal work control.

Practical implications

Knowing the characteristics of bullying helps in recognising and preventing bullying and aids in improving the working atmosphere at universities.

Originality/value

This study revealed that besides directly, bullying is related to explained intention to leave indirectly, mediated by (negative) work environment perceptions. This indicates that bullying gives rise to an unfavourable working atmosphere and further to intention to leave.

Citation

Meriläinen, M., Nissinen, P. and Kõiv, K. (2019), "Intention to leave among bullied university personnel", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 33 No. 7, pp. 1686-1704. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-01-2018-0038