Evaluating Workplace Toxicity and Employee Performance Among Academic Staff of Faculty of Management Sciences, Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria

Purpose: This is a study that aimed to determine the effect of workplace toxicity on employee performance amongst academic employees of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Federal University Wukari, Nigeria. Particularly, it discussed the effects of narcissism, ostracism, and harassment on the performance of staff in a scholarly setting.  Design/Methodology/Approach: The study based its research design on the descriptive type of research where the researcher investigates naturally occurring behaviours without controlling the environment. The sample used was an enumeration method, since the size of the population is quite low (92 academic staff). A questionnaire was used to collect the data in the form of a structured closed- ended questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale and was distributed through the WhatsApp platform of the faculty. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to analyse 84 valid responses (91%), using SmartPLS 4.0. The measurement model also fulfilled the requirements of reliability and validity and path coefficients and p-values were used to test the hypotheses.  Findings: The findings found out that harassment and narcissism statistically significantly impact employee performance, whereas ostracism did not exhibit a significant relationship. The most negative impact was created by harassment, with narcissism coming next. The values of R2 and Q2 predict in the model were 0.711 and 0.676 respectively, which pointed at a high level of explanatory and predictive power.  Implications of the Findings: The results demonstrate why institutions should mitigate the impact of toxic behaviours caused by personality, particularly, harassment and narcissism by performing screening on leaders, implementing anti-harassment policies, and accepting diversity.  Originality/Value: The paper brings fresh knowledge on the Nigerian academic setting where the Trait Theory is incorporated to explain how personal personality traits translate to toxic behaviours that largely influence the performance of academic staff in higher education.