Workplace Harassment and its impact on Society: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis

Abstract

Harassment has been a pervasive social issue since the dawn of human history. With the rapid expansion of society, it has become commonplace for one person to cause trouble for another. Harassment in the workplace includes any conduct that demeans or threatens an individual employee or group of employees. It has become a vital concern for practitioners and researchers to focus on workplace harassment, as it is one of the most delicate issues in effective workplace management, as aggressive workplace behaviours are a significant source of stress. There is an ongoing debate about whether workplace harassment affects employees' job satisfaction, is detrimental to their personal lives, and contributes to various social problems. Hence, the prime intention of the study is to determine the nature of workplace harassment and its impact on society. A systematic qualitative review was conducted to integrate previous empirical research studies and investigate the "themes" that span individual qualitative studies; articles were selected using the purposive sampling technique. Accordingly, a thematic analysis method was used to conduct the narrative synthesis. In line with the study, it is revealed that harassment can affect anyone in any workplace. While generalisations about harassers and organisational risk factors can foster a culture of harassment, toxic behaviours and harassment are not mutually exclusive. According to the study, harassment can affect anyone at work. Toxic behaviour and harassment are not mutually exclusive, despite the fact that generalisations about harassers and organisational risk factors can foster a culture of harassment. As a result of workplace harassment, a large number of individuals have suffered, which may affect their mental and social health and cause them to become addicted to inappropriate behaviours.