Exploring Toxicity in the Workplace in a Saudi Arabian University from the Perspectives of Senior Personnel and Faculty Members

Fatemah Abdullah Alhazmi

doi:10.7176/jep/11-17-13

Abstract

This study focuses on the context of a Saudi University to: (1) identify the behaviours and characteristics of toxic members in the workplace; (2) understand the impact of a toxic member within a workplace; (3) understand how leaders manage toxic individuals. The survey conducted comprised of seventy-five items developed based on four primary themes identified in the interview analysis, the key findings of the literature review, and some items used by Kusy and Holloway (2009), with some minor modifications. The survey was distributed to 500 faculty members at different colleges, including those in leadership positions, at MU. The return rate was 134 or 330. The results identified several behaviours and characteristics of toxic members in the workplace: prevalence of gossip, lack of confidence in others, and failure to accept others’ opinions were in the top three. Toxic members within a workplace were found to lower workers’ self-esteem, undermine confidence and even create financial crises. Leaders reacted by either forming a committee of professionals to treat the toxic individual, leaving the organisation, requesting the services of an external consultant or reducing the perceived causes of harmful behaviours. The research recommends creating a committee of professionals to deal with the behaviour of toxic individuals and identifying suitable external consultants. Key words: Toxicity, Workplace, Saudi Arabian, University, Faculty Members DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-17-13 Publication date: June 30th 2020

Highlights

Employees spend a considerable amount of time in the workplace, and it is vital to provide them with a comfortable and appropriate environment
Other studies have focused on aspects harmful for both an organisation and its personnel resulting in high levels of workplace stress, i.e. a culture of rudeness, harassment and bullying
This resulted in an examination of various aspects pertaining to psychology, referring to qualified and specialised researchers in order to understand whether some individuals in the workplace may be adversely impacted by negative personalities

Summary

Introduction

Employees spend a considerable amount of time in the workplace, and it is vital to provide them with a comfortable and appropriate environment. A number of researchers from a variety of fields have examined the factors playing a pivotal role in establishing a pleasant and positive atmosphere at work This has tended to focus on the need for an organisation to hire capable and qualified personnel with appropriate skills, with many studies exploring ways of recruiting high-performing employees capable of delivering high quality work and so enhancing the productivity of an organisation (Lazear and Oyer, 2007; Gibbons and Roberts, 2013). Such recruits are known as ‘stars’, and are seen as capable of increasing an organisation’s overall performance and productivity (Sauermann and Cohen, 2010; Oettl, 2012). Other studies have focused on aspects harmful for both an organisation and its personnel resulting in high levels of workplace stress, i.e. a culture of rudeness, harassment and bullying

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