SavedAdd your journal

Journals / Alanya Akademik Bakış / 2026 / Cilt: 10 Sayı: 1

Strategies of Migrant Textile Workers in Turkey to Cope with Workplace Bullying: A Qualitative Study

Umut Uyan(MUNZUR UNIVERSITY)0000-0002-8466-2903
Adil İbin(MERSİN ÜNİVERSİTESİ, MERSİN MESLEK YÜKSEKOKULU)0000-0001-9128-7315
Pages
130–141
Publication Date
2026-01-30
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

These strategies underscore the multifaceted nature of their coping mechanisms.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Despite being discussed by the scientific community and practitioners for decades, bullying remains a severe problem in modern work life.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The aim of the study is to understand the extent to which migrant textile workers in Turkey are exposed to bullying behaviors and the strategies they develop to cope with these unintended behaviors.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:These strategies underscore the multifaceted nature of their coping mechanisms.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:İş Yeri Zorbalığı · Başa Çıkma Stratejileri · Göçmen İşçiler

Abstract

Despite being discussed by the scientific community and practitioners for decades, bullying remains a severe problem in modern work life. The problem will likely continue to grow exponentially with the reality of migration. In fact, immigrant workers have been reported to be in the highest risk group in terms of being exposed to workplace bullying. The aim of the study is to understand the extent to which migrant textile workers in Turkey are exposed to bullying behaviors and the strategies they develop to cope with these unintended behaviors. The data of the research, which has a qualitative design, was collected through in-depth interviews (N=24) and analyzed thematically. The study demonstrates that migrant workers utilize a range of strategies to handle workplace bullying, which can be classified into three main categories: (1) individual strategies aimed at enhancing job-related competencies, (2) preventive measures adopted to avoid the emergence of bullying, and (3) eliminative interventions intended to stop existing bullying incidents. Individual strategies primarily involve building resilience by improving job-related skills. Preventive measures include forming supportive relationships with native colleagues and deliberately choosing safer and more inclusive work environments. Finally, eliminative strategies include mental support seeking, quiet quitting, and alternative employment options. These strategies underscore the multifaceted nature of their coping mechanisms.

Özet

Zorbalık, bilim camiası ve uygulayıcılar tarafından onlarca yıldır tartışılmasına rağmen modern iş yaşamında ağır bir sorun olmaya devam etmektedir. Göç gerçeğiyle birlikte bu sorunun katlanarak büyümeye devam etmesi muhtemeldir. Nitekim göçmen işçilerin işyeri zorbalığına maruz kalma açısından en yüksek risk grubunda olduğu belirtilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye'de tekstil sektöründe çalışan göçmen işçilerin zorbalık davranışlarına ne ölçüde maruz kaldıklarını ve bu istenmeyen davranışlarla başa çıkmak için geliştirdikleri stratejileri anlamaktır. Nitel bir tasarıma sahip olan araştırmanın verileri (N=24) derinlemesine görüşmeler yoluyla toplanmış ve tematik olarak analiz edilmiştir. Çalışma, göçmen işçilerin işyerinde zorbalıkla başa çıkmak için üç temel yaklaşım olarak sınıflandırılabilecek bir dizi strateji benimsediğini göstermektedir: (1) iş ile ilgili yetkinlikleri artırmaya yönelik bireysel stratejiler, (2) zorbalığın ortaya çıkmasını önlemek amacıyla benimsenen önleyici tedbirler ve (3) mevcut zorbalık vakalarını durdurmaya yönelik ortadan kaldırıcı müdahaleler. Bireysel stratejiler temel olarak işle ilgili becerilerin geliştirilerek dayanıklılık kazanılmasını içermektedir. Önleyici tedbirler, yerli meslektaşlarla destekleyici ilişkiler kurmayı ve daha güvenli, kapsayıcı çalışma ortamlarının bilinçli olarak tercih edilmesini kapsamaktadır. Son olarak, ortadan kaldırıcı stratejiler; mental destek arayışını, sessiz istifa eğilimlerini ve alternatif istihdam seçeneklerine yönelmeyi içermektedir. Bu stratejiler, göçmen işçilerin başa çıkma mekanizmalarının çok yönlü doğasının altını çizmektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Uyan, U., İbin, A. (2026). Strategies of Migrant Textile Workers in Turkey to Cope with Workplace Bullying: A Qualitative Study. Alanya Akademik Bakış, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 1, 130–141. https://doi.org/10.29023/alanyaakademik.1647207

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (59)

  1. Aagestad, C., Tyssen, R., Johannessen, H. A., Gravseth, H. M., Tynes, T., & Sterud, T. (2014). Psychosocial and organizational risk factors for doctor-certified sick leave: A prospective study of female health and social workers in Norway. BMC Public Health, 14, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-1016
  2. Baskaran, V., Nachiappan, S., & Rahman, S. (2012). Indian textile suppliers' sustainability evaluation using the grey approach. International Journal of Production Economics, 135(2), 647-658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.06.012
  3. Baughman, H. M., Dearing, S., Giammarco, E., & Vernon, P. A. (2012). Relationships between bullying behaviours and the Dark Triad: A study with adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(5), 571-575. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.11.020
  4. Boudrias, V., Trépanier, S. G., & Salin, D. (2021). A systematic review of research on the longitudinal consequences of workplace bullying and the mechanisms involved. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 56, 101508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101508
  5. Bretones, F. D. (2020). Migrant workers, hazards and vulnerability. Health, Safety and Well-being of Migrant Workers: New Hazards, New Workers, 9-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52632-0_2
  6. Castles, S., & Miller, M. J. (2009). The age of migration: International population movements in the modern world (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
  7. Cheo, R. (2017). Migrant workers and workplace bullying in urban China. Social Indicators Research, 132, 87-115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-015-1214-0
  8. Coetzee, M., & van Dyk, J. (2018). Workplace bullying and turnover intention: Exploring work engagement as a potential mediator. Psychological Reports, 121(2), 375-392. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294117725073
  9. Coyne, I., Craig, J., & Smith-Lee Chong, P. (2004). Workplace bullying in a group context. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 32(3), 301-317. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069880410001723530
  10. Crinis, V. (2010). Sweat or no sweat: Foreign workers in the garment industry in Malaysia. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 40(4), 589-611. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2010.507046
  11. da Conceiçao Figueiredo, M., Suleman, F., & do Carmo Botelho, M. (2018). Workplace abuse and harassment: The vulnerability of informal and migrant domestic workers in Portugal. Social Policy and Society, 17(1), 65-85. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746416000579
  12. Devadason, E. S., & Meng, C. W. (2014). Policies and laws regulating migrant workers in Malaysia: A critical appraisal. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 44(1), 19-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2013.826420
  13. Einarsen, S., Raknes, B. R. I., & Matthiesen, S. B. (1994). Bullying and harassment at work and their relationships to work environment quality: An exploratory study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 4(4), 381-401. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594329408410497
  14. Einarsen, S. (2000). Harassment and bullying at work: A review of the Scandinavian approach. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5(4), 379-401. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(98)00043-3
  15. Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., Zapf, D., & Cooper, C. L. (2020). The concept of bullying and harassment at work: The European tradition. In Bullying and harassment in the workplace: Developments in theory, research, and practice (pp. 3-40). CRC Press.
  16. Enh, A. M., Wahab, A., Azlan, A. A., Talib, K. A., Sakti, A. M. T., & Sultan, F. M. M. (2024). Life experiences and cultural adaptation among migrant workers in Malaysia. Comparative Migration Studies, 12(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-023-00360-1
  17. Escartín, J., Ullrich, J., Zapf, D., Schlüter, E., & van Dick, R. (2013). Individual‐and group‐level effects of social identification on workplace bullying. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 22(2), 182-193. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2011.647407
  18. Fleming, P. J., Villa‐Torres, L., Taboada, A., Richards, C., & Barrington, C. (2017). Marginalisation, discrimination and the health of Latino immigrant day labourers in a central North Carolina community. Health & Social Care in the Community, 25(2), 527-537. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12338
  19. Gawas, N. M. (2022). Workplace bullying and employee turnover intention: A mediating role of organizational justice. International Journal of Health Sciences, (III), 4486-4493. https://doi.org/10.53730/ijhs.v6nS3.6839
  20. Glambek, M., Nielsen, M. B., Gjerstad, J., & Einarsen, S. (2018). Gender differences in the relationship between workplace bullying and subjective back and neck pain: A two-wave study in a Norwegian probability sample. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 106, 73-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2018.01.010
  21. Gullander, M., Hogh, A., Hansen, Å. M., Persson, R., Rugulies, R., Kolstad, H. A.,. & Bonde, J. P. (2014). Exposure to workplace bullying and risk of depression. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(12), 1258-1265. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000339
  22. Hershcovis, M. S. (2011). “Incivility, social undermining, bullying… oh my!”: A call to reconcile constructs within workplace aggression research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32(3), 499-519. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.689
  23. Ho, K. H. M., Yang, C., Leung, A. K. Y., Bressington, D., Chien, W. T., Cheng, Q., & Cheung, D. S. K. (2022). Peer support and mental health of migrant domestic workers: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(13), 7617. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137617
  24. Hoel, H., Einarsen, S., & Cooper, C. L. (2002). Organisational effects of bullying. In Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace (pp. 163-180). CRC Press.
  25. Hogh, A., Carneiro, I. G., Giver, H., & Rugulies, R. (2011). Are immigrants in the nursing industry at increased risk of bullying at work? A one‐year follow‐up study. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 52(1), 49-56. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2010.00840.x
  26. Hoprekstad, Ø. L., Hetland, J., Bakker, A. B., Olsen, O. K., Espevik, R., Wessel, M., & Einarsen, S. V. (2019). How long does it last? Prior victimization from workplace bullying moderates the relationship between daily exposure to negative acts and subsequent depressed mood. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(2), 164-178. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2018.1564279
  27. International Labour Organization. (2011). The economic crisis and discrimination against migrant workers. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/publications/economic-crisis-and-discrimination-against-migrant-workers
  28. Islam, M. Z., Ahmed, S., Sarker, R. N., Farjana, S., Akter, A., & Saha, S. (2011). Health-related quality of life among adult migrant garment workers in Dhaka City. Bangladesh Medical Journal, 40(3), 14-17. https://doi.org/10.3329/bmj.v40i3.18651
  29. Lee, G., Park, J., & Ban, L. (2016). Understanding workplace adaptation as an acculturation process: A qualitative examination of South Korean highly skilled workers in Japan. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 8(4), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v8n4p107
  30. Liang, H. L. (2020). How workplace bullying relates to facades of conformity and work–family conflict: The mediating role of psychological strain. Psychological Reports, 123(6), 2479-2500. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119862984
  31. Liem, A., Renzaho, A. M., Hannam, K., Lam, A. I., & Hall, B. J. (2021). Acculturative stress and coping among migrant workers: A global mixed‐methods systematic review. Applied Psychology: Health and Well‐Being, 13(3), 491-517. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12271
  32. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry (Vol. 75). Sage Publications.
  33. Malik, M. S., Sattar, S., Younas, S., & Nawaz, M. K. (2019). The workplace deviance perspective of employee responses to workplace bullying: The moderating effect of toxic leadership and mediating effect of emotional exhaustion. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 8(1), 33-50.
  34. Malterud, K., Siersma, V. D., & Guassora, A. D. (2016). Sample size in qualitative interview studies: Guided by information power. Qualitative Health Research, 26(13), 1753-1760. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617444
  35. Murphy, C., Doyle, D. M., & Murphy, M. (2020). ‘Still Waiting’ for Justice: Migrant Workers’ Perspectives on Labour Exploitation in Ireland. Industrial Law Journal, 49(3), 318-351. https://doi.org/10.1093/indlaw/dwz023
  36. Murray, S. J., & Holmes, D. (2014). Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) and the ethics of body and place: Critical methodological reflections. Human Studies, 37, 15-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-013-9282-0
  37. Mutlu, P., Mısırlı, K. Y., Kahveci, M., Akyol, A. E., Erol, E., Gümüşcan, İ.,. & Salman, C. (2018). Suriyeli göçmen işçilerin İstanbul ölçeğinde tekstil sektörü emek piyasasına eklemlenmeleri ve etkileri. Çalışma ve Toplum, 1(56), 69-92.
  38. Naseer, S., & Raja, U. (2021). Why does workplace bullying affect victims’ job strain? Perceived organization support and emotional dissonance as resource depletion mechanisms. Current Psychology, 40(9), 4311-4323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00375-x
  39. Nielsen, M. B., & Einarsen, S. V. (2018). What we know, what we do not know, and what we should and could have known about workplace bullying: An overview of the literature and agenda for future research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 42, 71-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.06.007
  40. Nielsen, M. B., Einarsen, S., Notelaers, G., & Nielsen, G. H. (2016). Does exposure to bullying behaviors at the workplace contribute to later suicidal ideation? A three-wave longitudinal study. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 246-250. [suspicious link removed]
  41. Nowell, L. S., Norris, J. M., White, D. E., & Moules, N. J. (2017). Thematic analysis: Striving to meet the trustworthiness criteria. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1609406917733847. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406917733847
  42. Parkins, I. S., Fishbein, H. D., & Ritchey, P. N. (2006). The influence of personality on workplace bullying and discrimination. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36(10), 2554-2577. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00117.x
  43. Rayner, C., Hoel, H., & Cooper, C. (2001). Workplace bullying: What we know, who is to blame and what can we do?. CRC Press.
  44. Salin, D. (2003). Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of enabling, motivating and precipitating structures and processes in the work environment. Human Relations, 56(10), 1213-1232. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187267035610003
  45. Samnani, A. K., & Singh, P. (2012). 20 years of workplace bullying research: A review of the antecedents and consequences of bullying in the workplace. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(6), 581-589. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2012.08.004
  46. Sarwar, A., Bashir, S., & Karim Khan, A. (2021). Spillover of workplace bullying into family incivility: Testing a mediated moderation model in a time-lagged study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(17-18), 8092-8117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519847778
  47. Schilgen, B., Handtke, O., Nienhaus, A., & Mösko, M. (2019). Work-related barriers and resources of migrant and autochthonous homecare nurses in Germany: A qualitative comparative study. Applied Nursing Research, 46, 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2019.02.008
  48. Shinnar, R. S., & Zamantılı Nayır, D. (2019). Immigrant entrepreneurship in an emerging economy: The case of Turkey. Journal of Small Business Management, 57(2), 559-575. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12408
  49. Skogstad, A., Torsheim, T., Einarsen, S., & Hauge, L. J. (2011). Testing the work environment hypothesis of bullying on a group level of analysis: Psychosocial factors as precursors of observed workplace bullying. Applied Psychology, 60(3), 475-495. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2011.00444.x
  50. Smith, J. A., & Fieldsend, M. (2021). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. American Psychological Association.
  51. Strandmark, M., & Hallberg, L. M. (2007). Being rejected and expelled from the workplace: Experiences of bullying in the public service sector. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 4(1-2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780880701473359
  52. Tortumlu, M., & Uzun, K. (2022). İşyeri zorbalığının çalışanların yaşam doyumu üzerindeki etkisinde umut ve problem çözme becerisinin aracı rolünün incelenmesi. Çukurova Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 31(1), 220-241. https://doi.org/10.35379/cusosbil.1061508
  53. Tschirhart, N., Straiton, M., Ottersen, T., & Winkler, A. S. (2019). “Living like I am in Thailand”: Stress and coping strategies among Thai migrant masseuses in Oslo, Norway. BMC Women's Health, 19, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-019-0836-9
  54. Weishaar, H. B. (2010). “You have to be flexible”: Coping among polish migrant workers in Scotland. Health & Place, 16(5), 820-827. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2010.04.007
  55. Vogt Isaksen, J. (2019). The impact of the financial crisis on European attitudes toward immigration. Comparative Migration Studies, 7(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-019-0127-5
  56. Wilson, C. J., & Nagy, M. S. (2017). The effects of personality on workplace bullying. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 20(3), 123. https://doi.org/10.1037/mgr0000054
  57. Xu, Y., Gutierrez, A., & Kim, S. H. (2008). Adaptation and transformation through (un)learning: Lived experiences of immigrant Chinese nurses in US healthcare environment. Advances in Nursing Science, 31, E33–E47. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ANS.0000319570.99254.e5
  58. Gullander, M., Hogh, A., Hansen, Å. M., Persson, R., Rugulies, R., Kolstad, H. A.,. & Bonde, J. P. (2014). Exposure to workplace bullying and risk of depression. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(12), 1258-1265. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000339
  59. Mutlu, P., Mısırlı, K. Y., Kahveci, M., Akyol, A. E., Erol, E., Gümüşcan, İ.,. & Salman, C. (2018). Suriyeli göçmen işçilerin İstanbul ölçeğinde tekstil sektörü emek piyasasına eklemlenmeleri ve etkileri. Çalışma ve Toplum, 1(56), 69-92.