Understanding the Nature and Characteristics of Workplace Bullying: Perceptions of Victimized Teachers in Lahore’s Public Schools

Abstract

This study examines the nature and characteristics of workplace bullying among public school teachers in Lahore, Pakistan. Qualitative phenomenological approach was used and data were collected through in-depth interviews with public school teachers who previously reported facing bullying by colleagues. Thematic analysis demonstrated that bullying is a recurrent and systematic form of abuse embedded in weak organizational structures. Main characteristics include cyclical nature of bullying, the prevalence of a culture where victims also become perpetrators, the absence of hierarchical boundaries, and the prevalence of group dynamics. Victims reported that bullying often begins with informality. Motivations were explained in association with struggles for power and influence, habitual tendencies, jealousy, personal dislike, insecurity towards capable peers, and sadistic satisfaction. These findings align with symbolic interactionism and organizational theories, showing how both cultural and institutional structures enable bullying. The study contributes uniquely by centering teachers’ perceptions, offering critical insights into how school teachers who have personally experienced bullying and mistreatment by colleagues explain and interpret its nature and characteristics within the context of public schools in Pakistan.

Keywords: Workplace Bullying, Nature Of Bullying, Characteristics Of Bullying, Victimized Teachers, Teachers' Wellbeing, Bullying At School