Workplace bullying: the experiences of building and construction apprentices

This paper examines the workplace bullying experiences of building and construction apprentices. The aims of the paper are to learn about the types of behaviours to which building and construction apprentices are subjected and to examine the reasons why a significant proportion of them neither confront the perpetrator of the behaviour nor report the behaviour, either within the organisation or externally. Individual semi-structured interviews were used. The results indicate that the apprentices were subjected to a wide range of negative behaviours. There were several reasons for them neither confronting the perpetrator nor reporting the bullying, including fear of job loss and financial impact.