Bullying in the Indian workplace: A study of the ITES-BPO sector

Premilla D’Cruz and Charlotte Rayner
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Premilla D’Cruz: Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India
Charlotte Rayner: Portsmouth Business School, UK

Economic and Industrial Democracy, 2013, vol. 34, issue 4, 597-619

Abstract: This article reports on an empirical enquiry undertaken in India’s ITES-BPO (offshoring-outsourcing) sector to ascertain the presence of workplace bullying, the influence of sociocultural factors, the nature of bullying categories and the availability and use of extra-organizational redressal options. Survey data, gathered through structured interviews incorporating the Work Harassment Scale, conducted with 1036 respondents located in six cities, showed that 44.3% of the sample experienced bullying, with 19.7% reporting moderate and severe levels. In keeping with India’s hierarchical society, superiors emerged as the predominant source of bullying, displaying task-focused behaviours. Yet, the presence of ‘cross-level co-bullying’ where a personal focus was emphasized points to the role of identity-based affiliations intrinsic to India’s ethos. Key informant data, gathered through unstructured interviews with lawyers/legal activists, labour commissioners and trade unionists/labour activists and thematically analysed, underscored the influence of professional self-identity, career interests and a dysfunctional judicial system in targets’ choice of extra-organizational options.

Keywords: Cross-level co-bullying; hierarchy; India; offshoring-outsourcing; sociocultural dynamics; workplace bullying (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:ecoind:v:34:y:2013:i:4:p:597-619

DOI: 10.1177/0143831X12452672

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