Workplace Bullying and Employee Well-Being in the Public Service Sector in Adamawa State, North East Nigeria

Workplace bullying in Nigerian public sector organisations has significant consequences for employee well-being, job performance, and organisational commitment, yet its prevalence and psychological impact in North East states such as Adamawa remains poorly documented. This study investigates the prevalence of workplace bullying and its relationship with employee well-being in the public service sector in Adamawa State. A cross-sectional survey is applied to 260 civil servants from five government ministries in Yola, selected through purposive sampling. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale are administered alongside a questionnaire capturing years of service, supervisory role, gender, and department. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multiple regression are computed in SPSS. Available occupational psychology literature from North East Nigeria identifies verbal abuse, task sabotage, and social exclusion as the most prevalent bullying behaviours in public sector contexts, with supervisory bullying having stronger well-being effects than peer bullying. The Social Interactionist Theory of aggression and the Stressor-Emotion Model of workplace bullying provide the theoretical reference. Findings will inform the Adamawa State Head of Civil Service on protective policy development and staff psychological support services. Keywords: workplace bullying, employee well-being, public service, Adamawa State, North East Nigeria.