We’re now in our second year of the End Workplace Bullying campaign. This year we found that over half of UK employees have considered leaving a job because of bullying from a manager or colleague.
End Workplace Bullying Day is a time when we encourage HR teams and employers to look closely at their workplaces and how they can protect and support employees.
From our nationally representative survey of 1,000 employees, we found:
- Half of women have experienced bullying behaviours including receiving unfair criticism or blame, being undermined, offensive jokes, and verbal abuse such as shouting at work.
- One in four people have been undermined or had their work undermined, with 24% more women than men saying they experienced this.
- Almost a quarter (23%) of people have received unfair criticism or blame and;
- 22% of people have experienced abrupt emails (one in four women compared to 18% of men).
We also found that of those who had experienced workplace bullying, a staggering seven in 10 (72%) didn’t report it.
Of those who did report it almost half (46%) found it was ignored, dismissed or the situation was made worse. Over half (58%) of men found the situation was made worse or ignored compared to 41% of women.
It also discovered that over one in three don’t think their workplace is a place where they can speak up against workplace bullying. Seven in 10 haven't received any training on bullying, harassment, and discrimination.
Worryingly, 32% of people say their workplace bullying policy is non-existent or they don’t know about it.
Tina Chander, Head of Employment Law at Wright Hassall, says: “These findings are concerning. Many workplaces try and brush off some of these behaviours such as abrupt emails, isolation, a joke that offends someone but the reality is that these are bullying behaviours and more needs to be done to change the toxic culture of workplaces so that people are not suffering.”
“Training is part of the solution. But organisations need to do more to cultivate a culture and have set processes that are widely understood if someone is experiencing bullying and/or harassment.”
As part of the campaign, we are asking workplaces to join the conversation and make time in their diaries for anti-bullying training and to take meetings based on any bullying claims.
Join us on social media using the #EndWorkplaceBullying.
FAQs
What are we hoping to achieve from this campaign?
Now in its second year, we want to encourage HR teams and employers to clear their diaries for the day and look at ways they can support employees in coming forward if they have experienced bullying and/or harassment.
We want this day to remind workplaces to refresh or implement policies, procedures and training to help them rule out toxic behaviour.
We recognise it’s a process. But with small steps, change can be achieved.
What can a workplace do to stop workplace bullying?
To actively encourage employees to speak honestly about such incidents, employers must ensure that they have provided adequate training to their managers to assist them in identifying and dealing with such behaviour; and have up-to-date policies on bullying and harassment.
It’s a win-win for employers: if they are seen to take reports of bullying and/or harassment seriously, this is likely to improve their employees’ confidence in reporting any issues they have experienced themselves.
As such behaviour is often displayed by a select few individuals within an organisation, a small number of reports can significantly improve workforce morale and the workplace environment.
What does the law say about workplace bullying and discrimination?
Put simply; discrimination is unlawful. If you are being bullied and harassed because of protected characteristics such as race, gender, age or sexual orientation, it can lead to claims of discrimination.
If you are an employer and receive reports from employees alleging any such behaviour, it’s not something that can be swept under the rug, and it must be taken very seriously indeed and dealt with as a grievance.
Failure to do so under the ACAS Code of Conduct for Grievances and Disciplinaries means that any award made by the Employment Tribunal may be uplifted by up to 25%. Not only can this be a financially crippling experience, but it can also severely damage your business's reputation.
What can an employee do if they are being bullied and/or harassed at work?
If you are feeling bullied at work, you can do several things to protect yourself, including:
- Document what’s happening, dates, times, locations, people involved, and descriptions. This will help if you need to escalate the issue.
- Speak to your manager or HR team. They should take the appropriate action to address it.
- Prioritise self-care. It’s essential to speak with friends and family and get extra support from professional services or charities if needed.
- Speak with an employment lawyer. If the bullying hasn’t stopped or you don’t feel safe speaking with HR, seek an employment law expert who can give you tailored advice.
