We’re Monitored Too Much! Workplace Bullying or Managerial Control in the Maldivian Tourist Resorts

Abstract

In the Maldives, the tourism accommodations offer a unique working environment, which makes employees vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and likely to create its own profile of bullying. Therefore, this study places the spotlight on a setting about which little is known by the broader community of academics and professionals working in the field of human resource management. We used both quantitative and qualitative methods in this study to understand the phenomenon of workplace bullying, where participants faced an interview and then complete a questionnaire. Our study reveals that workplace bullying can be a strategy used by management to get work done in the short term. The managers’ primary goal is to achieve an organisational objective by leveraging the formal power and control structures they possess within the organisation. This approach gives off the impression of being unfair and inherently unjust towards those lower in the organisational hierarchy. As a result, individuals fail to report bullying incidents to the appropriate authorities and do not receive the necessary assistance; instead, they suffer in silence. Workers regard bullying as inherent to the system and ‘natural’ and ‘normal’ in this environment, as a result of the systems and the processes that they see operating.

A Systematic Review of Maldivian National Laws to Combat Workplace Bullying

“…In the close-knit Maldivian community, where family and friend networks span across islands, victims may fear the social ramifications of furnishing this information. They may question whether their anonymity will be violated, whether their protection is guaranteed and whether it might jeopardize their employment (Healthy Workforce Institute, 2019; Leeza & Kumar, 2023). Finally, Article 8 of the Complaint Form may be daunting for complainants as it requires that they describe any steps taken to rectify the situation.…”

“…Finally, Article 8 of the Complaint Form may be daunting for complainants as it requires that they describe any steps taken to rectify the situation. The complainant may be reluctant to submit the form if they have taken no such steps and do not believe they have the power to do so, particularly when perpetrators of bullying may be from the highest levels of the organization (Leeza & Kumar, 2023).…”

“…A recent study on workplace bullying in the tourism industry of the Maldives (Leeza & Kumar, 2023), shows that the preponderance of victims of bullying did not seek help either from their department, human resources, union, or any other office or service. Explanations from victims, indicate that the power supervisors hold within organizations and loopholes in employment law leave them with little confidence in protection within the process.…”