More than two-thirds of UK staff have been bullied at work, according to a
survey of 1,500 employees.
The research by recruitment website Monster.co.uk found that 44 per cent of
people had experienced bullying at work, while 21 per cent of respondents said
it was still happening.
One in 10 respondents said that while they were not victims of harassment
themselves, others were being bullied within their organisation.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) terms harassment
as any unwanted conduct that has the effect of violating dignity or creating an
intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Employers have a common law duty of care, and responsibilities under health
and safety legislation to take action to combat bullying, as well as
responsibilities under discrimination law.
Rebecca Clake, organisation and resourcing adviser at the CIPD, said
employers should create an environment that was comfortable if they wanted to
see high-performance levels.
"A well-designed policy statement is an important first step in
addressing harassment, and should cover all the complexities of intimidating
behaviour, including bullying," she said.
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"To be most effective, policy statements should be agreed with union
representatives. They should be well communicated to everyone who works for the
organisation and be regularly reviewed and updated to make sure they
work."
