THE PHENOMENON OF WORK ALIENATION IN ACADEMIA: A QUALITATIVE FIELD STUDY ON RESEARCH ASSISTANTS

This study aims at exploring the problems that cause alienation of research assistants to the academy in Turkey by considering five dimensions of alienation that are meaninglessness, powerlessness, self-estrangement, normlessness and isolation. Based on the qualitative method, we conducted 25 (twenty-five) semi-structured, in-depth interviews with research assistants from public universities in Turkey. It was found that the fundamental reasons for alienation to the academy come from law, inequalities amongst status and individuals, mobbing, workplace environment and favouritism. As this research focuses on the dimensions that cause alienation of academics by adopting an exploratory approach, the research findings will provide useful directions for decision makers and scholars in the context of higher education. Thus, the current study provides a conceptual lens for future research in alienation scholarship