Nearly 7 in 10 professors report being bullied, often by students over grades

Nearly 70% of professors across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. have reported being bullied, with students frequently targeting them over grades, according to a study led by the author and her colleagues. Workplace bullying, defined as harmful mistreatment beyond incivility that intentionally causes harm, significantly impacts faculty well-being and academic integrity.

Junior faculty and staff, as well as faculty members of Black, Indigenous, and people of color backgrounds, experienced more frequent bullying. Senior faculty were more likely to report being bullied by students over grades, a phenomenon known as contrapower harassment, where those with less power target those with more. Over 30% of adult workers in the U.S. and Canada face bullying and harassment in their workplaces, a rate more than double that of general workplaces.

Academic bullying, particularly students pressuring faculty for better grades through threats, malicious complaints, negative online reviews, emotional manipulation, and intimidation, creates toxic environments and negatively affects education quality, faculty mental health, job satisfaction, productivity, and institutional reputations.

The study surveyed 189 faculty and staff, finding that student pressure over grades was more common than bullying from colleagues. Researchers aim to explore the root causes, escalation patterns, and effective interventions to mitigate bullying in academia.