The Impact of Workplace Bullying and Authentic Leadership on Psychological Safety and Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance Among Working Women

Abstract

This study examines the impact of workplace bullying and authentic leadership on psychological safety and sexual harassment myth acceptance among women employees in corporate and education sectors. Using a sample of 225 female employees, 112 from corporate sector and 113 from education sector, data was collected through validated instruments, including the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) for workplace bullying, the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) for leadership assessment, the Psychological Safety Scale, and the Illinois Sexual Harassment Myth Acceptance Scale (SHMA). Statistical analyses, including ANOVA, were conducted to determine significant relationships between variables. The results indicate that workplace bullying significantly reduces psychological safety (p = 0.01) and increases the acceptance of sexual harassment myths (p = 0.01). Conversely, authentic leadership enhances psychological safety (p = 0.01) and reduces sexual harassment myth acceptance (p = 0.01). These findings highlight the protective role of ethical leadership in fostering workplace inclusivity and the detrimental effects of bullying on employee well-being.