Reflection on working culture in public organizations: The case of three Iranian Higher Education Institutions

Working culture in organizations reminds us that there should be facilitative atmosphere in an organization if the main goal is to achieve optimum efficiency. It happens if all the stakeholders' rights are taken into account without deviation of their rights, roles, values, and voices. Employees are one of the major contributing groups in each organization which are at the top of researchers' focus for further investigations. Universities and higher education institutions are also organizations with specific predefined roles and responsibilities based on the national, regional, and international goals, necessities, and ideals of the countries; while in some cases, these needs and goals might also change based on the rapid pace of changes in the global educational market. Here, 67 male employees from three Iranian higher education institutions were purposefully selected to participate in the study as we aim to identify the employees' views on and reactions towards working culture at their universities. Data analysis through Strauss and Corbin's Constant Comparative method illuminated the employees' total dissatisfaction specifically concerning colleagues' mutual relationships, biased and unfair managers' looks towards some employees, and their fear of being kicked out of the organization if their ideas are expressed within the context of the organization.