Purpose High incidence of workplace bullying in Indian organizations is well-acknowledged, but less is known about the games that bullies play to create a favorable atmosphere for bullying in academic institutions. This study aims to reveal the “safe game” tactics that the bullies use to chase targets like a predator chases his prey. Design/methodology/approach The study explores various manifestations of academic bullying by analyzing the victimization experiences of women faculty in academic institutions. The data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and informal discussions to explore the victimization episodes in detail. Findings The analysis indicates a set of common manifestations framed by bullies in academia to create a favorable environment for bullying. These manifestations often play out in a sequence. Initially, the targets are overloaded with work to portray the victims as incapable and less competent. Then, the bullies lodge many formal complaints with the help of their supporters. Finally, they create an environment of silence by threatening them for their responses against bullying. Originality/value This paper is supported by previous research in this area and progresses by exploring the experiences of the victims in academics to find a common sequence in the mistreatment they suffer. The study concludes by showing unexplored areas in research on workplace bullying in the academic sector and provides a foundation for further research.

Purpose Workplace bullying generates various emotions, including shame in the target; these emotions can induce employee silence. However, the role of shame in the relationship between workplace bullying and employee silence, and the individual differences in how victims experience shame and silence, has not yet been explored. The present study aims to fill this gap in the literature, using the effect of shame as a mediator and core self-evaluation (CSE) as a moderator. Design/methodology/approach Two thousand faculty members working in different colleges in India were invited to participate in the online survey. The participants were invited to fill in the questionnaire only if they had experienced shame by bullying during the preceding two weeks. Three hundred and twenty faculty members responded to the survey. Findings The results showed that shame mediates the relationship between workplace bullying and diffident silence. In addition, CSE moderates the relationship between shame and diffident silence but not the relationship between workplace bullying and shame. That is, diffident silence induced by shame was noted to be weaker for employees with high CSE. Importantly, the study could not find any individual difference in experiencing shame by bullying. Practical implications Improved CSE can effectively influence diffident silence through shame, helping the management to recognize workplace bullying. Originality/value It is a unique attempt to address diffident silence among Indian academicians, and study the role of targets’ shame and CSE while adopting silence on workplace bullying.

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Drawing on a framework of conservation of resources theory, this chapter aims to enable educators in the management and organizational studies domain to foster the relationship between serious leisure and perceived employability among marketing management students. The sample was 228 marketing management graduates from four business schools in India who completed an online questionnaire between December 2020 and February 2021. The findings indicate that serious leisure is positively associated with perceived employability and that the relationship is mediated by creativity. Gender moderates the mediating effect of creativity on the relationship between serious leisure and perceived employability such that the indirect effect of serious leisure on perceived employability is stronger for men than women. Practical implications enable educators and career counsellors to improve the perceived employability of their students, leading to benefits at the individual, university, and organizational levels.