2005 Survey of HR Professionals

Direct Experience of Bullying

Just over half of the respondents said that they have been bullied at work, and their feedback indicates that workplace bullying is perpetrated by a range of individuals, with immediate managers being cited most often. It takes a variety of forms. Unfair criticism, intimidating behaviour and humiliation and/or ridicule are the most commonly cited examples, while a much smaller percentage indicated that they have been the victims of physical abuse.

Many reasons for bullying were given. Of the response options available on the questionnaire, the most commonly chosen was personality clash followed by gender and age. However, respondents' comments indicate that there is a broad range of other reasons reflecting, no doubt, the complex nature of the subject.

More than a third of respondents said that the bullying had continued for over a year. A quarter between 6 and 12 months.

Workplace bullying affects people in different ways. The most commonly cited effects were a lowering of confidence and self-esteem and worry about going to work. It also has an impact on performance. Over 43% of respondents said that it had affected the quality of their work, and almost 17% said that it had caused them to take time off.

The way people respond to workplace bullying also varies. Over 56% of respondents said that they started looking for another job, 54% discussed it with family or friends while 42% talked with colleagues. Just under 17% made an informal complaint while more than 9% made a formal complaint.

Just over 29% of respondents said that their actions solved the problem, while nearly 42% said that they achieved a partial solution. Unfortunately, just over 24% said that their actions failed to deal with the problem, while nearly 5% said that they had actually made the situation worse.