Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Experiences with Workplace Bullying: Factors that Encourage and Discourage Reporting

The current study employed a qualitative design to explore the experiences of twenty-seven graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) from a single university who reported having been bullied in the course of their GTA positions. The research explored GTAs’ experiences with bullying, whether they reported their experiences to someone in authority, and the factors that influenced their decisions to report. GTAs shared two main reasons for reporting bullying: the desire to seek help or advice and their positive perceptions of the individuals to whom they reported bullying. However, most GTAs also expressed reluctance or reservations about certain aspects of the reporting process, including a reluctance to pursue additional reporting, to report bullying to higher-level administrators, or file official bullying reports. Barriers to reporting included concerns about the potential consequences of reporting bullying, negative perceptions of persons or offices within the institution, an unfavorable organizational climate, and a perceived lack of respect and resources for GTAs. The findings are discussed in light of issues of GTAs’ relative power, their multiple roles, and their views of the organizational climate.