Workplace mistreatment in higher education: role of psychological well-being, corporate social responsibility and job performance

Abstract

Workplace mistreatment, including bullying, incivility, and social exclusion, represents a persistent yet underexamined challenge within higher education institutions (HEIs). Although prior research has documented the detrimental psychological consequences of mistreatment, less attention has been paid to its implications for academic job performance and the institutional conditions that may mitigate these effects. Drawing on organizational psychology, workplace mistreatment research, and micro-level corporate social responsibility (CSR) theory, this conceptual paper develops a moderated mediation framework explaining how workplace mistreatment undermines academic job performance through psychological well-being, and how internally oriented CSR weakens both the direct and indirect effects of mistreatment. By conceptualizing mistreatment as a broad umbrella construct and CSR as an internal ethical and relational mechanism, this paper advances theory on mistreatment in academia and highlights the strategic role of responsible institutional practices in sustaining employee performance.