ABSTRACT
The academic profession sacrifices some autonomy and academic freedom as university leadership becomes more capitalistic, corporatized, and market driven. According to the labor process theory, incivility and bullying can occur as a result of this market-driven, capitalistic worker relationship. Still, academics dismiss as real workplace incivility and bullying for multiple reasons: Well-educated, civilized professionals situated in an urbane and democratic environment immune from such irresponsible behavior would be unlikely to engage in such aggressive behavior. In fact, aspects of academe show it to be a potential environment that easily spawns and sustains bullying over long periods of time, so much so that departmental bully cultures become engrained. The institution, however, would seem to have a vested interest, if not an economic stake, in minimizing incivility and bullying, if not eliminating them altogether. Tough financial times in higher education can exacerbate the workplace tension that leads to bullying.
