february 28, 2012 shrm survey findings: workplace bullying

February 28, 2012

SHRM Survey Findings: Workplace Bullying

Workplace Bullying ©SHRM 2012

Definitions

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Workplace bullying: Persistent, offensive, abusive, intimidating or insulting behavior or unfair actions directed at another individual, causing the recipient to feel threatened, abused, humiliated or vulnerable. Workplace bullies and targets may be employees, clients or vendors of the affected organization.

Target: The person toward whom the bullying behavior is directed.


Key Findings

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Are organizations experiencing workplace bullying? About one-half (51%) of organizations reported that there had been incidents of bullying in their workplace. Compared with two years ago, most organizations indicated that incidents of bullying had either stayed the same (48%) or decreased in frequency (34%), while 18% reported an increase in frequency of bullying.

Which bullying behaviors are most common? Among organizations that experienced incidents of bullying, nearly three-quarters (73%) reported verbal abuse, three out of five (62%) reported malicious gossiping and/or spreading lies/rumors about workers, and one-half (50%) reported threats or intimidation.

Do HR professionals experience bullying? About one-quarter (27%) of HR professionals reported having been bullied in the workplace. Of those who had been bullied, more than one-half (57%) had reported their experiences to someone in the organization.

What are the outcomes of workplace bullying? The three most common outcomes of bullying incidents that organizations experienced were decreased morale (68%), increased stress and/or depression levels (48%) and decreased trust among co-workers (45%).

Workplace Bullying ©SHRM 2012 4

Incidents of Bullying in the Workplace

Policies and Prevention/Awareness Training

Response to Incidents

HR’s Responsibility

Typical Reporting Channels/Mechanisms

Bullying Behaviors and Targets

Outcomes of Bullying

Workplace Bullying


Has your organization ever experienced an incident of workplace bullying?

Note: n = 265. Respondents who answered “don’t know/not sure” were excluded from this analysis.


Has your current organization ever experienced an incident of workplace bullying?

Small organizations Large organizations Differences based on organization staff size

1 to 99 employees (38%)

100 to 499 employees (42%)500 to 2,499 employees (71%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

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Comparisons by organization staff size

Larger organizations (500 -2,499 employees) are more likely to have experienced an incident of workplace bullying than smaller organizations (1-499 employees).


Compared with two years ago, have incidents of workplace bullying in your organization...?

Note: n = 105. Respondents who answered “not sure/don’t know” were excluded from this analysis. Only respondents whose organizations had experienced an incident of workplace bullying were asked this question.


Does your organization have a formal (written, documented) workplace bullying policy?

n = 400


How is your organization’s workplace bullying policy communicated to employees?

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Note: n = 166. Only respondents whose organizations had a workplace bullying policy were asked this question.


How is your organization’s workplace bullying policy communicated to employees?


1 to 99 employees (8%) 2,500 to 24,999 employees (45%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

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Larger organizations (2,500-24,999 employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (1-99 employees) to communicate their workplace bullying policy through the company intranet or website.

Publicly owned for-profit organizations

Privately owned for-profit organizations Differences based on organization sector

52% 13% Publicly owned for-profit > privately owned for-profit

Comparisons by organization sector

Publicly owned for-profit organizations are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to communicate their workplace bullying policy through the company intranet or website.

Privately owned for-profit organizations are more likely than publicly owned for-profit organizations to communicate their workplace bullying policy in the employee handbook.



56% 91% Privately owned for-profit > publicly owned for-profit


To what employees does your organization provide bullying prevention and/or awareness training?

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Note: Respondents who answered “not applicable” were excluded from this analysis.


To what employees does your organization provide bullying prevention and/or awareness training?



100 to 499 employees (21%)25,000 or more employees (60%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

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Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (1-499 employees) to provide bullying prevention and/or awareness training to nonmanagement employees.


How does or would your organization respond to alleged perpetrators of bullying?

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Note: n = 305. Respondents who answered “N/A, the organization typically does not respond to allegations of bullying and/or has not had any reported incidents of bullying” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


How does or would your organization respond to alleged perpetrators of bullying?

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Privately owned for-profit organizations Government agencies Differences based on organization sector

2% 13% Government > privately owned for-profit


Government agencies are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to respond to allegations of bullying by placing an alleged perpetrator on paid administrative leave.


Who is responsible for handling the organization’s response to workplace bullying?

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Note: n = 316. Respondents who answered “N/A, no set responsibility” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


Who is responsible for handling the organization’s response to workplace bullying?


1 to 99 employees (3%)2,500 to 24,999 employees (20%)

25,000 or more employees (25%)Larger organizations > smaller organizations

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Comparison by organization staff size

Larger organizations (2,500 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (1-99 employees) to report that legal counsel is responsible for handling the organization’s response to workplace bullying.


Who is responsible for handling the organization’s response to workplace bullying? (continued)


Privately owned for-profit organizations Government agencies Differences based on organization

sector

93% 91% 65%Publicly owned for-profit, privately owned

for-profit > government

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Publicly owned for-profit organizations and privately owned for-profit organizations are more likely than government agencies to report that the HR department/function is responsible for handling the organization’s response to workplace bullying.

Government agencies are more likely to report that legal counsel is responsible for handling the organization’s response to workplace bullying compared with privately owned for-profit organizations.



Government agencies are more likely to report that the security department is responsible for handling the organization’s response to workplace bullying compared with privately owned for-profit organizations.




To what extent does your current organization:

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Note: Respondents who answered “not applicable” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.


In your opinion as an HR professional, to what extent should it be HR’s responsibility to step in (to investigate, document, discipline, etc.) when bullying is reported or suspected in the workplace?

n = 338


Through what channels or to whom within your organization are incidents of bullying typically reported?

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Note: n = 129. Only respondents whose organizations had experienced an incident of workplace bullying were asked this question. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


Through what channels or to whom within your organization are incidents of bullying typically reported?


100 to 499 employees (18%) 25,000 or more employees (71%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

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Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (100-499 employees) to typically report incidents of bullying to other management-level staff (nonexecutive).

Smaller organizations (1-99 employees) are more likely than larger organizations (500-2,499 employees) to typically report incidents of bullying to the CEO, president or owner.


1 to 99 employees (29%) 500 to 2,499 employees (6%) Smaller organizations > larger organizations

Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (1-99 employees) to typically report incidents of bullying through a hotline or other reporting system.




Through what channels or to whom within your organization are incidents of bullying typically reported? (continued)



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Comparisons by organization staff size (continued)

Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (100-499 employees) to typically report incidents of bullying to the security department.



13% 1% Publicly owned for-profit > privately owned for-profit


Publicly owned for-profit organizations are more likely to typically report incidents of bullying to the security department compared with privately owned for-profit organizations.


Which of the following bullying behaviors have occurred in your workplace?

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Which of the following bullying behaviors have occurred in your workplace?



100 to 499 employees (10%)25,000 or more employees (71%) Larger organizations > smaller organizations

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Larger organizations (25,000 or more employees) are more likely than smaller organizations (1 -499 employees) to have experienced use of technology for bullying (bullying behaviors occurring via email, text messages, Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

Privately owned for-profit organizations

Nonprofit organizations Government agencies Differences based on organization

sectors

56% 19% 71%Government, privately owned for-profit >

nonprofit


Government agencies and privately owned for-profit organizations are more likely to have experienced cruel comments or teasing, such as about appearance or lifestyle, compared with nonprofit organizations.


What relationships have been involved in reported incidents of bullying in your organization?

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What has your organization experienced as outcomes of the bullying incident(s)?

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Note: n = 104. Only respondents whose organizations had experienced an incident of workplace bullying were asked this question. Respondents who answered “N/A, not aware of any effects or outcomes” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


What has your organization experienced as outcomes of the bullying incident(s)?

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Privately owned for-profit organizations Nonprofit organizations Differences based on organization sector

41% 77% Nonprofit > privately owned for-profit


Nonprofit organizations are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to report experiencing complaints about increased stress and/or depression levels as a result of workplace bullying incidents.


Workplace Bullying Targeted at HR Professionals

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Incidents of Bullying

Perpetrators

Incident Reporting


Have you ever been bullied in the workplace in your role as an HR professional?

n = 332


By whom were you targeted?

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Note: n = 90. Only respondents who had been a target of workplace bullying in their role as an HR professional were asked this question. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


Did you report your experiences to anyone in the organization?

Note: n = 90. Only respondents who had been a target of workplace bullying in their role as an HR professional were asked this question.


What was the level of the person(s) in the organization to whom you reported the incident(s)?

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Note: n = 50. Only respondents who had reported being a target of workplace bullying in their role as an HR professional were asked this question. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


Demographics


Demographics: Organization Industry

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Note: n = 326. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.


Demographics: Organization Sector

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n = 322


Demographics: Organization Staff Size

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Note: n = 319. Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.


Demographics: Other

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U.S.-based operations only 77%

Multinational operations 24%

Single-unit company: A company in which the location and the company are one and the same.

34%

Multi-unit company: A company that has more than one location. 66%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices 49%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices 4%

A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determine HR policies and practices

47%

Is your organization a single-unit company or a multi-unit company?

Are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit corporate headquarters, by each work location or both?

Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only or does it operate multinationally?

n = 327 n = 331

n = 226

Corporate (company wide) 64%

Business unit/division 18%

Facility/location 18%

n = 226

What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?

Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.


SHRM Survey: Workplace Bullying

Response rate = 15%

Sample composed of 401 randomly selected HR professionals from SHRM’s membership

Margin of error +/- 5%

Survey fielded May 9-27, 2011

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Methodology

For more poll findings, visit www.shrm.org/surveys

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february 28, 2012 shrm survey findings: workplace bullying

Documents

workplace bullying shrm

incident of workplace

outcomes of workplace

incidents of bullying

frequency of bullying

workplace policies

workplace bullies

current organization