An investigation of the rate of workplace bullying and its perceived influence on employee engagement and labour turnover in the Gauteng hospitality industry

Abstract

Workplace bullying creates a hostile environment that adversely affects employee morale and effectiveness. This form of aggressive behaviour, which occurs when one or more employees are consistently exposed to negative actions from one or several persons over time, is often an invisible challenge that plagues many companies. Unaddressed, it can quickly spread and become a rooted organisational culture that is detrimental to productivity and performance. Leaders bear the responsibility for fostering a safe working environment for all employees. This study investigates workplace bullying as a phenomenon and its perceived influence on employee engagement and labour turnover in the Gauteng hospitality industry. The Self-Determination Theory (SDT) guided and supported the researcher in examining and explaining workplace bullying, employee engagement, labour turnover, and turnover intention. The theory emphasises the importance of fulfilling the intrinsic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Employees who are bullied are denied the opportunity to satisfy these basic psychological needs, they may be less motivated, disengaged, and eventually decide to leave the organisation. Using a qualitative design, data were collected via semi-structured interviews with nine participants and analysed thematically using Atlas.ti software. The research findings revealed that workplace bullying is widespread in the hospitality industry and negatively influences employee engagement and labour turnover.