Toxic Behaviors in Workplace: Examining the Effects of the Demographic Factors on Faculty Members’ Perceptions of Organizational Toxicity

Abstract

This study aims at determining faculty members’ level of the organizational toxicity, and to make statistical comparisons based on selected demographic variables. The research design is a relational survey. The study is conducted on 707 academic staff working in various academic units at three state universities in Turkey. The data were gathered through a questionnaire including two parts: The first part consisted of Kasalak’s (2015) four factor “Perceived Organizational Toxicity Scale (POTS)” with a five-point Likert-type scale; and the second part was related to selected demographic variables. The descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were applied on the data. The findings show that organizational toxicity in each subscales is perceived in different levels; the highest in “toxicity based on aggressive behaviors” sub-scale while the lowest in “toxicity based on rigid and narcissist behaviors” one. Organizational toxicity is found statistically different in variables gender, title, academic fields and seniority in the current university.