From the playground to the classroom, bullies are everywhere—even the workplace.
A CareerBuilder.ca study reveals that 45% of Canadians feel they have been bullied in the workplace, with bosses being the most frequent tormenters.
Of those who have been bullied, 26% have left a job because of it.
“Our results showed that, despite the prevalence of workplace bullying, many workers do not come forward to report it, and many of those who do feel their complaints aren’t heard,” says Mark Bania, director of CareerBuilder Canada.
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From intimidation to insults, bullying occurs in many forms. When asked how they felt bullied, workers gave the following responses.
- They were falsely accused of making mistakes: 54%.
- They were ignored—their comments were dismissed or not acknowledged: 51%.
- The boss or co-workers constantly criticized them: 37%.
- Different standards or policies applied to them that didn’t apply to others: 35%.
- They were the topic of office gossip: 35%.
- Co-workers made belittling comments about them during meetings: 32%.
- The boss yelled at them in front of other co-workers: 24%.
- Others purposely excluded them from projects or meetings: 21%.
- Others picked on them for personal attributes (e.g. race, gender, appearance): 16%.
- Someone stole credit for their work: 15%.
Of those who felt bullied at work, 43% say it was more than a one-time incident.
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When it comes to the biggest workplace bullies, those who have felt bullied at work say bosses are No. 1 tyrants (49%), followed closely by co-workers (47%). Thirty-two percent of workplace bully victims say a customer was the culprit, and 23% felt victimized by a higher-up at the company other than their boss.
Half of office bullying victims say their bullies are older than them, and 28% say their bullies are younger. Twenty-two percent are bullied by people their own age.
When it comes to reporting the problem, the majority of office workers choose to keep silent. Only 44% of workplace bully victims report the problem to HR, and 54% of those workers say no action was taken to relieve the situation.
Fifty-five percent of those who say they’re bullied have taken matters into their own hands to varying results. Twenty-six percent of workers say the bullying stopped when they confronted their tormenter; however, 28% also confronted their bully only to see the bullying continue, and another 2% say the bullying got even worse.
“Workers should feel comfortable coming forward if they feel they are being bullied,” Bania adds, “and employers should take these complaints seriously, as they can lead to larger problems that affect not just the individual employee but the entire organization.”
Read: Workplace Bullies