Impact of harassment and bullying of forensic scientists on work performance, absenteeism, and intention to leave the workplace in the United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate, for the first time, the extent and nature of harassment and bullying in forensic science laboratories associated with law enforcement in the United States. We hypothesized that the most common harassment would be that of male sworn civil servants working in forensics targeting women non-sworn forensic scientists. Further, we assessed whether levels of harassment were associated with workplace performance, absenteeism, and intention to leave. There were three types of self-reported harassment investigated: work performance-related, interpersonal, and physical intimidation. There were three categories of respondents: lab technician, manager/supervisor, and “Other” that included students, administrative support personnel, assistants, and consultants. Results showed that levels and types of harassment varied depending upon the inter-relationship between the harassed and the harasser, with higher levels of harassment reported by participants coming from harassers above them in authority. While the majority of harassment reported was between women, due to the overwhelmingly female respondent pool and gender of those employed in forensics, the effect of gender on harassment may be skewed. Work-related harassment was associated with a decrease in work performance and increased intention of participants to leave their agencies. Intention to leave was mitigated by the employee maintaining high work performance despite the harassment. This study can be valuable to forensic scientist employers seeking to identify those most likely to experience harassment so that agencies may intervene, prevent decreases in productivity and job satisfaction, and to address employee retention.