The scale of workplace bullying

The Fair Treatment at Work survey conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now the Department for Business, Information and Skills (BIS)) in 2007 collected evidence on the extent of workplace bullying across Britain through face-to-face interviews with 4,000 workers. The survey found that in the preceding two years, 6.9% of all workers had personally experienced unfair treatment, bullying or sexual harassment. Bullying alone affected more than one million workers. Those already facing disadvantage were more susceptible to bullying than other workers. People with a disability or long-term illness were twice as likely (15.1%) to have experienced unfair treatment, as were gay, lesbian and bisexual workers (13.8%) and those from minority ethnic groups (12.5% for black workers and 8% for Asian workers).

A 2009 public services union UNISON survey of 7,000 members carried out by Portsmouth University showed that over a third of workers had experienced bullying in the previous six months — twice the number recorded in 1997. Eighty per cent of victims said bullying affected their physical and mental health, and a third took time off work or left their jobs as a result. Nine out of 10 victims felt that the bullies were able to get away with it, and the same proportion reported being too scared to report the problem.

UNISON conducted a further survey of workplace bullying in 2011 with a poll of 6,000 public sector staff. This time, the results revealed evidence of a strong link between bullying and the economic downturn. Six out of 10 respondents reported having been bullied or having witnessed bullying, and one in four identified staff cutbacks as a direct cause of bullying. Around half said they would not report bullying out of fear for their jobs. The results revealed geographical differences, with London the worst hit, where 83% said they had experienced or witnessed bullying. More than half said they would stay in their jobs and suffer in silence — up from a quarter in 2009.

A 2011 report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Conflict management, confirms this picture, noting that the “scale of workplace conflict is remarkable and has increased in the recession”. The CIPD cites a marked increase in the number of days spent by management and HR managing both disciplinary and grievance cases since 1997, with significant differences between sectors.