Abstract:
Workplace bullying is an increasing concern across various organisations and their employees. When employees are being bullied or even witnessing bullying behaviour, it can be very crippling from an emotional perspective as well as from a productivity perspective.
An organisation who buys into an Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP), goal is to provide a platform for employees who are experiencing personal or work related challenges to get support. One of the work challenges an employee could be experiencing is workplace bullying and the effects of workplace bullying can be devastating. This specific study was based on teachers in a school system and whether workplace bullying exists or not.
The goal of the study was to explore the role of the EAP when addressing workplace bullying in a school. Limited research was found whether teachers use the EAP when they are experiencing workplace bullying. A qualitative approach was followed by the researcher inviting teachers from a school to participate in the research and interviews were set up with the teachers.
The findings of the study indicated that most of the teachers experienced workplace bullying either by them being victims or witnessing bullying in the workplace. Most of the participants didn’t know about the existence of the EAP and some were aware. The teachers who indicated that they were victims or that they have witnessed workplace bullying, have not used the EAP to get support or counselling relating to this particular issue despite the negative impact the issue had on them. The findings of the study also indicated that there was not a lot of awareness of the role of the EAP and how EAP works. The research study shows that there is a need for further research studies into the role that an EAP can play when employees and organisations are dealing with workplace issues such as workplace bullying.
