Here are some recent statistics from Gary Namie, co-founder of the highly-regarded US-based Workplace Bullying Institute. I would suspect that in Canada our state of affairs in these matters is somewhat different than in the US, however these statistics are likely accurate enough to be relevant to us here.
As a reminder, bullying is often defined as `health harming, repetitive negative acts where the victim feels helpless to protect themselves’.
Those of you who are managers or HR professionals may find particular interest in the info found under the heading “employers’ reaction to bullying complaints”.
So, here we go:
Who bullies:
– Bosses: 72%
– Peers: 18%
– Bottom-up: 10%
Who is targeted:
– Non-supervisory: 55%
– Supervisors/managers: 35%
– Executives:5%
– Temps: 5%
Bullied employees’ reaction:
– Did not report: 40%
– Informal complaint: 38%
– Formal complaint: 15%
– Formal complaint to government: 4%
– Lawsuit: 3%
Employers’ reaction to bullying complaints:– Did nothing: 44%
– Helped or tried to help: 32%
– Made the situation worse: 18%
Prevalence of bullying:– Bullied in the past: 24%
– Bullied now: 24%
– Witnessed bullying: 12%
– No experience: 45%
– Unknown: 6%
Where bullying happens:
– In the open: 54%
– Behind closed doors: 32%
– Overheard: 10%
What stops the bullying:– Target quits: 40%
– Target fired: 24%
– Target transfers: 13%
– Bully punished: 23%
