The Workplace Bullying Institute (US) has just released the results of their latest survey of workplace bullying. In August 2007, the Institute conducted online interviews with a representative sample of nearly 8000 adults. Some very interesting findings emerged.
- 37% of workers have been bullied
- 60% of bullies are men.
- 54% of bullying involves public humiliation; 32% occurs privately.
- Men prefer public bullying, while women prefer private bullying.
- Women bullies target women 2.5 times more often than men.
- Male bullies target men and women equally.
- 68% of bullies operate alone
- 40% of targets leave their job voluntarily; 23% are terminated; 13% are transferred.
- Only 3% of targets file lawsuits. 40% never complain.
- only 14% of bullies are terminated; 9% are punished but not fired.
- 72% of bullies are bosses.
The overall finding that 45% claim to not have experienced or seen workplace bullying is interesting. If this is a true finding, then there are still some good organisations doing the right thing. Alternatively, these people may find the topic undiscussable because of its career-jeopardising potential. For them, it is easier to deny the existence of bullying.
This is a well conducted survey with a large representative sample, the results of which should generalise elsewhere. You can see the detailed report here.
