August 30th, 2010
Workplace Bullying Still Rampant in U.S.
In August, 2010 the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) commissioned Zogby International to conduct a survey of adult Americans. The results showed that workplace bullying is still a problem for 53.5 million Americans. In the scientific, national poll, 35% of Americans report personally being bullied. By including those who only witness it, 50% of have experienced bullying, directly or vicariously, at work. Another 50% say that have neither experienced nor seen it.
This study is a follow-up to the frequently cited 2007 WBI-Zogby survey, the comparable prevalence was then 37%.
Workplace bullying was defined as “repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation or humiliation.”
In a separate survey, a representative sample of 4,210 respondents was asked about employer engagement in anti-bullying activities. The vast majority (79%) either were not sure or were certain that employers do little to nothing to address it. Remarkably, 21% believed that U.S. employers are currently addressing it through policies and enforcement.
Though the question specifically asked about an anti-bullying policy separate from harassment and violence policies, which most employers do have, one-fifth of respondents still believed that employers had additional procedures to stop bullying.
“This surprising result is probably wishful thinking by bullied individuals and their friends who want to believe that their employer cares about them,” says Dr. Gary Namie, WBI Director. “Similar studies in Scandinavian countries where anti-bullying laws began in the mid-1990′s find a much lower employer compliance rate.”
The positive attitude toward employers was further illustrated by 56% of respondents reporting confidence that American employers would voluntarily stop bullying without being mandated by law to do so. Only 32% disagreed, believing only a legal obligation would compel action.
Respondents were also asked whether they support or oppose workplace bullying laws like the ones that have been introduced in 17 states since 2003 by the Healthy Workplace Bill Campaign. In 2010, both the New York and Illinois Senates passed the bill. However it has not yet become law in any state.
Of the WBI-Zogby respondents, 64% supported having laws to protect workers from “malicious, health-harming abusive conduct” committed by bosses and co-workers (the specific language contained in the introduced bills). 23.8% opposed laws. Gary Namie concludes, “Clearly a majority of Americans want a law. This statistic will be given to lawmakers as proof of the popular appeal of such legislation.”
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Contact:
Gary Namie, PhD
360-656-6630
info@workplacebullying.org
Tags: 2010 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey, Healthy Workplace Bill, WBI-Zogby, workplace bullying
This entry was posted on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 11:38 am and is filed under Announcements, Legislative Campaign, Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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I worked at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Law Firm where I was bullied daily. The use of profanity was rampant and a norm of that institution. I was called names and made fun of and unable to perform. As my performance declined I was written up and became the scapegoat for other coworkers mistakes. My vehicle was damaged by one of the financial officers. I was called the most awful names and slandered. A coworker tried to bully me into giving her money and I refused. She then blamed for something impossibly unbelievable, yet believed by the vehement attitudes at Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough Law Firm. They let me go. I’m alive and no longer bullied. I’m glad that many of the bullies are overweight and have health issues.