Workplace bullying is on the rise as organisations are shying away from tackling the issue finds a new study by advisory, conciliation and arbitration service, Acas.
Leaders are “retreating” from confronting bullies where they encounter pockets of powerful resistance within their organisations and employers feel they lack skills to go through the complex disciplinary procedures, says the provider which receives some 20,000 calls about bullying every year.
The Seeking better solutions: Tackling bullying and ill-treatment in Britain’s workplaces report revealed managers preferred to move staff around rather than dealing with the bullies’ behaviour.
“Callers to our helpline have experienced some horrific incidents around bullying that have included humiliation, ostracism, verbal and physical abuse.
"But managers sometimes dismiss accusations around bullying as simply personality or management style clashes whilst others may recognise the problem but lack the confidence or skills to deal with it,” said Acas chair, Sir Brendan Barber.
“Our analysis reveals that bullying is on the rise in Britain and it is more likely to be found in organisations that have poor workplace climates where this type of behaviour can become institutionalised,” he added.
Acas found that despite the “compelling” reasons for combating bullying – £13.75 billion is estimated to have been lost in one year (2007) to businesses through bullying-related absenteeism –organisations are still slow to follow best practice.
The discussion paper published in November follows TUC’s YouGov poll on bullying, which found nearly a third of people have been bullied at work. Its survey of 1,738 adults showed that 29 per cent of workers had been been bullied, with women (34 per cent) more likely to be victims of bullying than men (23 per cent).
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