Findings
from exclusive research by anti-bullying charity the Andrea Adams Trust and Personnel Today show more than
three-quarters of HR professionals have been bullied at work Here are the results
Have you ever been bullied?
a.        In
your current job       Yes: 22.55%
b.        In a previous job          Yes:
52.63%
c.        Never been bullied       24.82%
If yes, who bullied you?                  Â
a.        Your immediate superior          57.62%
b.        A manager in the company       29.52%
c.        Other members of the workforce 15.71%
d.        Union
official                           1.75%
e.        Other                                      5.23%
How did you respond?
a.        Confronted the bully                27.60%
b.        Went to a senior manager        32.06%
c.        Made use of the organisation’s
grievance procedure      7.62%
d.        Made use of specific procedures on
bullying                 3.97%
e.        Approached a professional body                                  8.61%
f.         Left the organisation                 41.26%
g.        Took legal action                     2.86%
h.        Other                                      16.19%
Have you ever observed work colleagues in
your own department being bullied?
a.        Yes     49.54%
b.        No      50.46%
Does bullying occur elsewhere in your
organisation?
a.        Yes     71.07%
b.        No      28.93%
Over the past two years have the number of
incidents of bullying in your organisation:
a.        Increased                    34.71%
b.        Stayed the same          42.56%
c.        Reduced                      20.66%
d.        Don’t know                 2.07
In your opinion, has tackling bullying in
the workplace become a higher priority for you as an HR professional than it
was two years ago?
a.        Yes                 74.78%
b.        No                  25.22%
Does your organisation have a formal policy
for tackling bullying?
a.        Yes                 70.85%
b.        No                  29.15%
If yes, did you notice an increase in cases
coming forward as a result of introducing a formal policy on bullying?
a.        Yes                 31.07%
b.        No                  68.93%
Have you been aware of a reluctance on the part of the victims of bullying
to formally report their case?
a.        Yes                 55.74%
b.        No                  10.57%
c.        In
some cases  33.69%
Do you feel that the existing procedures
(formal/informal) enable your organisation to resolve incidents of bullying
satisfactorily?         Â
a.        Yes                 43.70%
b.        No                  56.30%
Which of the following factors contribute
to the weakness of your organisation’s approach to handling incidents of
bullying?
a.        Inadequate procedures 30.31%
b.        Lack of cooperation from management 44.76%
c.        Unwillingness to acknowledge a problem
by management         69.77%
d.        Prevailing management style     63.46%
e.        Lack of training in how to deal with
bullying      53.54%
Does your organisation offer training on
any of the following:Â Â Â Â Â Â
a.        Avoiding bullying                     12.30%
b.        Dealing with incidents of bullying          24.17%
How long, on average, does it take/has it
taken your organisation to resolve cases of bullying?
a.        Less than a month                    26.74%
b.        Between 1 and 3 months          33.53%
c.        Between 3 and 6 months          18.22%
d.        Between 6 and 12 months        8.91%
e.        More than a year                     12.60%
Which of the following penalties does an
employee face, who has been found guilty of bullying at your company?
a.        Dismissal         48.25%
b.        Individual making the allegations moved
to another job 18.26%
c.        Individual accused of bullying is
relocated                     26.94%
d.
       Other (please state)     28.16%
Is bullying:
a.        endemic
in the workplace         14.90%
b.        undesirable
but occurs in all workplaces to some extent 65.68%
c.        a
very rare occurrence             19.41%
Do you work in the public or private sector?
a.        Public  39.68%
b.        Private 60.32%
Which of the following best describes the
main business, product or service of the organisation you work for?
a.        Construction, Mining, Agriculture,
Forestry, Fishing      2.83%
b.        Energy and Water Supply Industries                 1.24%
c.        Manufacturing, Engineering, Processing 13.45%
d.        Catering, Hotels, Transport, Travel
Industry     2.65%
e.        Retail, Wholesale, Distribution,
Repairs 10.27%
f.         Banking, Finance, Insurance, Business
Services, Property, Renting       8.67%
g.        National government                                        3.36%
h.        Local government                                            15.93%
i.         Education/Training                                           9.38%
j.         Health                                                             7.26%
k.        Electronics, IT, Communications                      6.19%
l.         Professional Services, Consultancy                   8.14%
m.       Charity                                                            6.19%
n.        Chemicals                                                        1.06%
o.        Media                                                             3.36%
Source
– Personnel Today/Andrea Adams
Trust
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