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ON CAMPUS
You ’ re stuck with this ‘ suck it up princess ’ mentality because you chose to do the job .
( In ) civil uprising
Deans sound off on rumours , gossip and other forms of incivility in university faculties .
By Dallas Bastian
Incivility is “ almost a standard component ” of the dean ’ s role in universities – and the issue is getting worse . That was one of the key findings to come from interviews with 20 faculty deans across eight universities .
The study , by La Trobe University ’ s Dr Troy Heffernan and Lyn Bosetti from Canada ’ s University of British Columbia , explored incivil acts like negative or hushed comments , ignored instructions and spreading rumours .
While one-third of deans spoke of being bullied , the study ’ s authors said : “… what is consistent in most of their interviews is that it is not acts that would be defined as bullying that they find most troublesome : it is acts of incivility .”
Eighteen of the 20 deans in the study said they experienced regular incivility , with rumours and gossip cited as the most difficult aspect to deal with .
One of the deans interviewed said people in university faculties are “ smart bullies ”.
“ They ’ ll spread rumours about you and your behaviour . You wait to hear about something you ’ ve never done or said . But people are also willing to believe it . The best bullies are the ones who can convince others of what ’ s gone on . There ’ s a lot of gaslighting , people telling you they understand and agree with you , do nothing , and then say that ’ s not what you said .”
An interviewee said this “ two-faced approach ” caused greater emotional labour . “ This makes you on edge all of the time because it ’ s not just about what you say , it ’ s about knowing how it will be misconstrued .”
The deans explained that flashpoints of anger seen in other forms of bullying , while still mentally distressing , had a start and end point , while rumours , gossip and purposefully misinterpreting information was less predictable and left them feeling “ on edge ”.
“ Deans could not calculate what the consequence of these actions might involve and when they might occur .”
SUCK IT UP The authors suggested that perpetrators find incivility to be a “ safer way ” of carrying out negative behaviours .
And they added there was little recourse available to those subjected to incivility . “ Repercussions of incivility ’ s constant strain is difficult to gauge because … no quantifiable line exists to demarcate general negative behaviours and acts of incivility ,” they wrote . One interviewee said : “ As a leader , you ’ re stuck with this ‘ suck it up princess ’ mentality because you chose to do the job . You only need to look at Australian politics to see that it ’ s okay to bully a leader , they don ’ t have a recourse .”
Six of the deans interviewed said they were currently engaging with professional medical help for conditions like anxiety , stress and depression to deal with the issue , while three others spoke of plans to step down from their role or not continue in the position after their contract period ended .
Some deans also spoke of selfmedication via medicine and alcohol .
‘ INCIVILITY IS RISING ’ The authors urged university managers to acknowledge the shift from the welldefined practice of bullying to instances of incivility .
And one dean interviewed , named Andrew in the study , said current university organisational systems were part of the problem ; the incivility he faced was almost entirely due to management tasks he is required to carry out .
“ Andrew believed his decisions around teaching and learning rarely result in incivil acts because they can be talked through ,” the study read . “ In his view , a dean in their role as a senior academic can discuss issues surrounding academic topics like teaching and research , as Andrew put it : ‘ Academics know how to react to academics .’ However , he reiterated that it was his management and administration duties that led to difficulties because ‘[ academics ] don ’ t know how to react to businesspeople ’.”
But Heffernan told the Sydney Morning
Herald that human resource departments are currently not set up to work out how to properly identify incivility .
“ We know it is happening and we know it is growing , but no one has any idea yet of how to stop it .”
Interviewees discussed the “ near impossibility ” of current practices providing safeguards against incivility and added the issue must be addressed swiftly , the study read .
“ Incivility is rising and what is currently happening at the deans ’ level should be considered a warning for what may be occurring in other areas of the academy .” ■
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