Forgiveness: a new dynamic in workplace bullying

Abstract

This chapter makes an original contribution to the substantive area by showing forgiveness as a new response which helps targets of workplace bullying overcome harm and experience healing. Forgiveness, as with the extant literature on identity work and resilience, is associated with targets’ sense of well-being. Drawing on a hermeneutic phenomenological study of IT and ITES-BPO employees in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, India, the chapter describes the dynamics of forgiveness experienced by targets. Conversational interviews held with 24 participants identified mainly via snowball sampling were thematically analysed. Genuine forgiveness, moving on without forgiving and maintaining unforgiveness emerged as the core themes which depicted three trajectories of forgiveness. Targets reported a sense of well-being and healing regardless of the specificity of their forgiveness response. Genuine forgiveness and moving on without forgiving portrayed elements of both spiritualism and materialism, thereby underscoring the complex sociocultural fabric of Indian society.