The relationship between experienced and observed harassment: The role of organizational identification and perceived justice in a higher educational context

Abstract

Building on cognitive schema theory, this study investigates the relationship between experienced and observed harassment in a university setting. It also examines two moderators—organizational identification and perceived justice. Using a cross sectional survey, data were gathered from 276 academics and staff in a private university with approximately 9000 students located in the southeastern United States. The results suggest that employees who personally experience workplace harassment are more likely to observe others as being targets of harassment. They also suggest that organizational identification and perceptions of organizational justice moderate the relationship between experienced harassment and observed harassment. Overall, the findings support the important role of schemas in understanding how pre-organized cognitive templates can impact perceptions of observed harassment in an academic context, and also stress the central roles of organizational identification and perceived justice in managing harassment. With respect to practical implications for higher educational institutions, human resource managers must work hard at making sure that faculty, staff and students perceive their universities to have fair systems in place so they can have trust in their institutions, thus increasing the likelihood that individuals will more likely disassociate their own negative experiences from the harassment schema. Managers should also implement programmes to build positive organizational cultures or school spirit.