Bullying amongst managers rockets as organisations fail to take action

Bullying is rife across UK organisations according to research published today by the Chartered Management Institute. The survey, which questioned 512 executives in public and private sector organisations, revealed that many senior managers are victims of bullying and identifies psychological intimidation as the biggest problem. The research also shows an alarming lack of awareness about dealing with workplace bullies.

Bullying at work: the experience of managers published in association with UNISON and Acas, reveals that 39 per cent of all managers have been bullied in the past three years. Middle managers are the most bullied amongst the UK management population, with half of them (49 per cent) having suffered. This suggests that ímanagement squeezeí is a serious issue - with pressures from above and below the reporting line creating problems for those in between. However, victims appear at all levels of the organisation. Almost a third (29 per cent) of directors and two fifths (42 per cent) of junior managers reported incidences of being bullied.

Managers are observing incidents of bullying between peers, by external customers or clients and a quarter have reported bullying of managers by junior staff, dispelling the myth that it only occurs in formal hierarchical relationships. Women appear to be more frequent victims of bullying than men with over half (54 per cent compared to 35 per cent) having suffered from bullying in the past three years.

Levels of bullying appear to be higher in public sector organisations than in any areas of the private sector, according to the survey. On a five point scale (with five meaning a high level of bullying prevalent) individuals working in the public sector gave their organisations an average score of 2.55, while those working for public limited companies gave an average score of 2.31. Private limited companies have the lowest levels of bullying with a rating of just 1.98.

The research found that the most common forms of bullying are misuse of power or position (70 per cent), verbal insults (69 per cent) and undermining by overloading or criticism (68 per cent). Physical intimidation or violence are the least common forms, with less than one fifth (17 per cent) having been bullied in this way.

A lack of management skills is cited as the top reason (66 per cent) for bullying in the workplace. Other factors included personality of colleagues/managers (57 per cent) and authoritarian management style (55 per cent). Mary Chapman, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute comments: This suggests that poor management is at the root of the problem since senior staff lack the skills to prevent incidents of bullying from occurring. Organisations must create an open, empowering culture and develop the skills of those who enter management positions to ensure that the potential for bullying is minimised and that a positive, productive working environment develops.

The majority (75 per cent) of respondents, when asked about their initial reactions to a colleague in a bullying relationship, said they would talk to one of the parties involved. Others (11 per cent) would raise the issue with a senior manager while some individuals (5 per cent) would inform the HR team. Despite this, almost half (48 per cent) of those who have been bullied reported that no action was taken by their employers.

This suggests that the good intentions of managers are not reflected in practice - 71 per cent have spent one day or less dealing with bullying in the past year Acas Chief Executive John Taylor says: It is essential that employees are able to report inappropriate behaviour and be confident that the issue will be dealt with in a professional manner. Managers need to realise the impact bullying has on employees - both the victims and observers - and prioritise workforce welfare.

For those with policies, training is particularly effective with most (83 per cent) of those managers whose policies include training rating their organisations as quite or very effective at deterring bullying. Other effective but uncommon policies include: a contact point for advice (82 per cent), internal confidential counselling (82 per cent) and external mediation (81 per cent).

The involvement of line management is seen as very important by the majority (90 per cent) while 79 per cent felt that employee involvement was also essential. The public sector, particularly, also favours support from HR teams (78 per cent) and commenting on the impact of bullying in the public sector, Dave Prentis, General Secretary of Unison says: ìPublic sector managers are under increasing pressure to implement a constant raft of government reforms and at the same time deal with recruitment and retention difficulties. I believe this conflict is reflected in the higher level of bullying in the public sector.

An executive summary of the report and guidelines for managers on tackling bullying are available from the website at the bottom of the page.

The full report can be obtained by calling 020 7421 2721.