Workplace cyberbullying and social capital among Jordanian university academic staff: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Workplace cyberbullying has harmful psychological, social, and behavioral consequences for employees and employers. This study investigates workplace cyberbullying among academic staff of both sexes at Jordanian universities, to explore their exposure to workplace cyberbullying by colleagues and employers and its correlation with social capital and self-esteem. Data were collected through an anonymous online survey involving Jordanian academic staff. The findings revealed that workplace cyberbullying reduces with increasing social capital. No relationship was detected between workplace cyberbullying and self-esteem. A positive correlation was found between self-esteem and structural social capital. Age, sex, and university sector do not predict academic workplace cyberbullying levels. The results indicate that administrators and policymakers in the Jordanian higher education sector should improve social capital among academics, given its positive implications for self-esteem, organizational life, and the prevention of distress. This strategy is appropriate in the turbulent conditions confronting academics working in a context with an increasingly dominant digital culture.