Workplace Bullying, Harassment, Mobbing and Victimisation. Have you ever been bullied by a psychopath? If not, then you are lucky...for now! as chances are you will eventually come across their path sooner or later. Psychopaths and Bullies are everywhere in Australian corporate offices.
How to identify the bully, the impact & effects of bullying and how to survive.
If there is a bully lurking behind you, move forward to put the bully truly Behind You.
Intimidation and fear: welcome to agency charged with stamping out bullying
THE state government agency responsible for investigating workplace bullying is harbouring a serious bullying problem in its own ranks which it has been attempting to keep quiet.
There was a ''pattern'' of bullying within WorkCover's Licensing Solutions Unit, the agency's money-spinning department that approves workers to drive forklifts, operate cranes and work on construction sites, an investigation last year found. But the report has been buried and the agency has attempted to cover up the problem, telling its minister it revealed no bullying.
The inquiry, conducted by one of WorkCover's own safety inspectors, Petar Ankucic, found bullying had been ''occurring for a prolonged period of time and that various factors, including selective supervision, multiple chains of command, workload equity, continuous negative feedback and a somewhat autocratic management style … have contributed to unintended bullying''.
But when the Finance Minister, Michael Daley, was asked about the bullying, he twice denied it existed. In May he told Parliament: ''The investigation revealed no evidence of bullying as defined in the WorkCover publication, Preventing and Dealing with Workplace Bullying.''
A senior manager told workers in April there was no bullying in the department. But the report noted staff cried when interviewed. They also showed a ''mixture of intense dislike, fear and almost hatred'' towards two of their bosses.
In a follow-up review, the atmosphere improved, but Mr Ankucic said the ''seemingly calm work environment … is still very fragile and … is best described as a good work in progress".
A Herald investigation has discovered the agency is still plagued by mistrust and fear. A number of current and former employees claimed bullying was rife within the Gosford-based organisation.
Licensing officer Paul Newton, fed up with the ''spying'' and ''controlling'', resigned last week. He said colleagues had been reduced to tears and likened the workplace culture to East Germany. ''It's like the Stasi,'' he said.
''I just think it's terrible that an organisation that exists to protect the emotional and physical well-being of people in the workplace fails to protect the emotional well-being of its staff.''
An online survey of 816 WorkCover staff in April, seen by theHerald, showed problems extended beyond the licensing unit.
Almost 60 per cent were not convinced people avoided politics and back-stabbing and only one-third believed management was almost always ''honest and ethical''. Just 20 per cent thought it was nearly always an emotionally and psychologically healthy place to work.
''Licensing is the bullying hot spot, but not the only place that has problems,'' a worker said.
"WorkCover's just so demoralised.''
A spokeswoman for WorkCover said it had firm internal policies to prevent and address bullying. ''All reports of bullying are taken seriously and investigated on the evidence,'' she said.
''A culture survey conducted in 2010 … found that 66 per cent of staff found WorkCover 'a great place to work'.''
In the five years to mid-2007 there were more than 4000 workers compensation claims for harassment or bullying in NSW, costing $80 million.
Queries about dealing with workplace bullying are now among the top five reasons people contact WorkCover's information centre.
'I hate working at WorkCover.'
Paul Newton, who resigned from the agency this month, said managers used bullying and favouritism, sometimes subtly, as a means of ''controlling staff''. Colleagues were encouraged to spy on each other and collect information to be used against workmates. "It's like orchestrated management bullying," he said.
'My hair started falling out.'
A former long-term staff member, granted workers compensation for work-related depression arising from bullying, said she was so stressed her hair fell out in clumps. One manager turned an allegation of bullying against an individual into a ''bitch fest''. The woman said she was accused of bullying without explanation. "During this time I was a mess.''
WorkCover is the state government agency responsible for providing "safe, secure and productive workplaces", which includes "preventing and dealing with workplace bullying", its website says.
The Licensing Solutions Unit approves workers to drive forklifts, operate cranes and work on construction sites.
Mr Daley said he had been previously told by WorkCover that the agency was addressing the problem but wanted to be sure the alleged harassment was stopped.
He has asked the director general of the Department of Premier and Cabinet to commission an independent review of the allegations.
"Due to WorkCover's role as the regulator of workplace safety, including bullying matters, I have requested that this review be conducted by somebody independent from WorkCover and the government," Mr Daley said in a statement.
"Bullying and intimidation in any workplace is unacceptable."
The Greens said a premier's department probe does not go far enough and a parliamentary inquiry should be held.
"If WorkCover can't stop bullying in its own ranks, how can it be up to doing its job in other workplaces in NSW?" Greens MP and the party's industrial relations spokesman, David Shoebridge, said.
"Neither WorkCover, nor this government, can be trusted with getting to the bottom of this.
"We must have an open and accountable parliamentary enquiry into WorkCover's palpable failure to deal with bullying.
"It is not good enough to fob it off with another behind closed doors report on a report." source
Most people believe that happy employees are more productive, treat each other better and give better customer service........ That’s not true.
When human resource departments push employee satisfaction initiatives at work, too often they encourage the most selfish, negative and hostile employees to harass, bully and abuse coworkers and supervisors.
Of course, I’m not encouraging companies to mistreat their employees. But I am encouraging leaders to question the assumed correlation between happiness and productivity, between satisfaction and teamwork.
A recent report in the Harvard Business Review also suggests that there is no correlation between employee satisfaction and customer service in the workplace.
Here’s why. Usually, mediocre and poor employees and managers are happiest when they work less and are held to lower standards. They want or feel entitled to whatever makes them happy, but they won’t pay for those rewards by increased productivity.
These people often want to rule the roost. When they’re empowered by being listened to, they become mean, vindictive and cruel. They use their power to increase bullying and abuse of the most productive employees and managers, and of people they simply don’t like.
Employee satisfaction programs encourage the most negative, bitter and hostile people to vent their anger and to continue venting forever. As long as they’re venting, someone will be catering, begging and bribing them.
I’ve seen that time and time again. So have you. Think of all the people you work with. Ask yourself questions about each one individually, “If that person was in charge, what would happen – who are their favorites; how hard would they work; what corners would they cut; are they lazy, negative, hyper-critical slackers; are they gossiping, backbiting rumor mongers; would they try to bring everyone into the team?”
Instead of focusing on employee satisfaction, survey your most productive, lowest maintenance employees and managers. By “most productive,” I don’t mean only “shooting stars.” I also mean steady, highly competent employees. Don’t ask the mediocre or “bottom feeder” employees and managers what would make them happier.
Don’t have HR departments do these surveys; they’ll get lied to. Use written surveys but don’t pay much attention to them; people expect them but you won’t get the critical people-information you need. Conduct skillful personal interviews with the right employees to identify the people or departments whose poor attitudes thwart or destroy productivity.
Ask the most productive employees, “What would make you more productive (effective, efficient)?” Focus on, for example, better systems, better technology and better coworkers.
Give your most productive employees and managers what they need to be more productive. The technology and systems are usually straightforward areas. Critical to your success is constant churning of your poorest employees and managers so the most productive ones can be even more productive.
Ask the most productive employees, “What rewards do you want for being even more productive?” Give them much of what they want. Remember, one highly productive employee is worth at least two poor ones.
Usually, you’ll find that the number one desire of highly productive staff is better coworkers, so they can accomplish more and look forward to working with people who also hold up their end of the table.
Don’t cater to poor attitudes. Stop negativity, entitlement and bullying at work.
HR usually distracts and detracts from efforts to increase customer service or productivity. HR tends to focus on surveying and catering to the happiness of all employees, which does not increase customer satisfaction. HR usually doesn’t survey customers and you don’t want them to.
Focus your own efforts on measuring productivity and customer service.
As a leader, if you say, “I don’t know who my most productive employees are,” or “I don’t want to hurt the feelings of employees or managers that I don’t interview” you’ve just shown that you and your managers aren’t doing your jobs.
Give your best employees what they need or you’ll stimulate turnover of the people you need to keep.
A CULTURE of sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation is rife in Victorian hospitals, with an average of three official complaints lodged against staff a week.
Workplace bullying, standover tactics by management and unwarranted sexual advances have been exposed in a Sunday Herald Sun investigation of complaints made by hospital staff.
At least 165 complaints were made about doctors, nurses and other health service workers in two years.
Documents obtained through Freedom of Information reveal 130 complaints were made for bullying between July 2006 and July 2008 last year.
There were 14 complaints of sexual harassment and 22 for harassment and intimidation.
A dozen hospital staff were found guilty of sexual harassment during the period, including eight who faced disciplinary action.
Six major health authorities refused to provide documentation of complaints including Southern Health, which employs more than 12,000 staff across 46 sites including Monash Medical Centre, and Austin Health, which has 6400 employees.
Experts say sexual assaults reported are the tip of the iceberg, with many more cases unreported in hospital wards.
Centre Against Sexual Assault spokeswoman Caroline Wirth said many people were too scared to report sexual assault in hospitals for fear of dismissal.
"People should come forward to report it, but a lot find it really hard to," she said.
Health authorities have also come under fire for sacking only one employee found guilty of sexual harassment. Most were given a warning, counselling or mediation.
Bullying was the most common grievance of health workers, with 95 of 130 complaints substantiated.
There were six resignations on the back of bullying investigations, two dismissals, 11 warnings, six staff relegated to new roles, one transfer and 26 counselling cases.
Fifteen of 21 harassment claims were also substantiated.
Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission chief Dr Helen Szoke said the figure almost certainly under-represents the true problem.
"Our research shows that about 75 per cent of people do not make a complaint because they fear reprisals or feel they will not be believed," she said.
An Eastern Health employee, who asked not to be named, said bullying was condoned and widespread among senior hospital management.
"There is a culture of allowing senior medical staff to get away with behaviour that includes bullying, harassment and other abuses of power," she said.
Opposition Health spokeswoman Helen Shardey said: "Obviously some people haven't got the message that people need to be treated with respect."
Jason Frenkel, a spokesman for Health Minister Daniel Andrews, said it was the responsibility of hospitals to clean up their act.
CHRONIC bullying and harassment is rife throughout Royal North Shore Hospital, with staff terrified to speak out and the Nurses Association turning a blind eye to the crisis.
A confidential Government report obtained by The Daily Telegraph found the hospital has been crippled by "endemic" misconduct among nurses, doctors and virtually all other medical staff.
The external investigation was ordered by Health Minister Reba Meagher following revelations in The Daily Telegraph of widespread bullying among nurses at the hospital and "Soviet-style" management techniques.
The new CEO of Northern Sydney Health Matthew Daly has launched an immediate series of overhauls and warned that the heads of bullying staff who refuse to change their ways will roll.
Mr Daly, who investigated similar claims of bullying at Campbelltown and Camden hospitals, is bringing in an external expert to tackle harassment.
The report, by veteran public servant Vern Dalton and nursing professor Judith Meppem, found:
"THE issues are not isolated to nursing and nursing management but appear to be endemic across the hospital";
"ACROSS all disciplines there was strong concern expressed about the hospital's bullying and harassment policy (which is 'seen as a joke')";
"STAFF are afraid to speak up for fear of being belittled, humiliated, publicly embarrassed or victimised";
"THE local NSW Nurses Association branch is inactive . . . They do not have any significant issues involving RNSH at present";
A 2003 report on bullying and harassment was covered up and none of its recommendations implemented; and
"THERE is little evidence that complaints have been taken seriously".
The report found the culture of bullying and harassment was so strong at RNSH that serious doubts were expressed that the very bullying investigation and review would be hindered.
"Bullying is unacceptable in any workplace and needs to be stamped out," Ms Meagher said yesterday.
"In a hospital setting, it undermines confidence when all staff should be 100 per cent focused on patient care."
Mr Daly told The Daily Telegraph he would talk to staff and management.
However, he warned that staff who did not change would be terminated.
"I work very much on the basis of strike three, you're out," Mr Daly said.
Nurses Association assistant secretary Judith Kiejda said nurses had been too scared of reprisals to bring their concerns to the union but the hospital branch had been reactivated recently.
source
STEP BACK IN TIME
... 2008
Article: Is your hospital safe? Disruptive behavior and workplace bullying
... 2007 Concern over bullying in hospitals has prompted one doctor to start an action group to help those affected. Helen Francombe reports
The Australian
December 08, 2007
IRENE Langtry had worked as a nurse for more than 50 years and risen to the top of her profession, performing highly responsible work with seriously ill patients.
But problems started after she spoke out in hospital meetings on ideas she felt were in the interests of patient care -- but were not always in step with the new management at her hospital.
A litany of unpleasant incidents followed -- each one seemingly small in isolation, but which had a demoralising effect over time.
"It started with me being excluded from major decisions -- including the hiring of a new member of my team," says Langtry (whose name has been changed to protect her identity). "Then I was falsely accused of arriving late and leaving early."
Managers also sprung on her surprise tests of calculating drug dosages and using equipment that were not relevant to the kind of patients under her care.
"I then received a letter on my desk -- at the end of the day, right before the Christmas holidays -- accusing me of unspecified harassment of another staff member (which was subsequently dropped), that I worried about for 17 days before I could get more details." More incidents followed and culminated in her being demoted to nursing assistant duties, including heavy lifting, which finally forced her to take extended sick leave for stress-related conditions.
Bullying is rife across both nursing and medicine. One Australian study, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, found 29 per cent of the nurses interviewed had been verbally abused by fellow nurses, and 27 per cent by doctors, in the preceding four weeks (2006;55(6):778-787).
And as many as 84 per cent of junior doctors in one UK survey reporting they had been bullied at work at some point (BMJ 2002;324:878-9).
One reason bullying has been so hard to stamp out is that colleagues severely punish anyone who has the temerity to challenge the practice. So poor is the current system for dealing with bullying, that doctor Cary Ooi is currently forming an action group for bullied doctors and their supporters called Remedies for Persecuted Doctors.
Ooi -- a Sydney GP with a special interest in personal injury, developmental disability and medical ethics -- says in theory there are "avenues for reporting and dealing with bullies, but they are toothless tigers -- they don't work at all."
The action group aims to protect the human rights of doctors who have been bullied by providing mutual support and publicity about the problem in the first instance, and perhaps through legal channels in the future, says Ooi, who also has a post-graduate qualification in health law and assesses patients in cases of alleged medical negligence.
Doctors from minority groups are common targets for bullies, he says.
"In the extreme, doctor Mohammed Haneef, who was forced to leave Australia, is an example of bureaucratic bullying," he says. His action group plans to invite Haneef to join if he is allowed to return to Australia.
Another group often finding itself in the firing line are doctors who are concerned about patient welfare and are prepared to speak out about dangerous practices, says Ooi. For example, one member of the new group is a GP who was concerned about the high number of prescriptions for a particular drug being given out by the head of his practice, apparently without patients receiving a proper explanation of the risks.
The GP was dismissed after he counselled a patient about the possible harms associated with the drug, Ooi says.
Anyone seen as casting the profession in a bad light -- and commits the cardinal sin of "dobbing" -- is in danger of losing their job, he says. People who even try to air the problem -- never mind bring up specific instances -- find themselves persona non grata.
One such doctor -- an intensive care specialist who declined to be named, or even to risk identification by mentioning the city he works in -- was ostracised by colleagues after writing in very general terms about the bullying problem in a medical journal.
"An action group like this is very welcome, and will hopefully make staff less fearful about speaking out," he told Weekend Health.
However, more effective avenues for dealing with subtle bullying under the disguise of "constructive criticism", as well as intimidation of whistle-blowers, are also needed. He has had a steady stream of trainees who have come to him in tears because of unusual harshness and repeated criticism for insignificant issues, but has felt powerless to help.
"Every day I felt like there was a sword hanging over my head if I mentioned the problem -- no one likes a whistle-blower, especially if they mention anything that starts with the letter B."
Even senior doctors are frightened to report bullying, partly because it can be a difficult phenomenon to define and document, he says.
There is no universal agreement over what is and is not bullying.
Different experiences of discipline between the generations mean that what strikes one person as bullying is just firm direction to another, says a surgeon from a major Sydney Hospital, who declined to be named.
"To me, generation Y is very precious: if you raise your voice they get upset, because they weren't brought up with discipline," he says. "During my training, if you were rebuked the paint would be peeling off the walls."
However, unacceptable aggressive behaviour is still a reality, he acknowledges, and has partly been fuelled by the disappearance of down-time -- which used to give opportunities for nurses and doctors to have morning tea, celebrate a birthday or have an unrushed training session.
"Twenty years ago hospitals would run at 80 per cent occupancy so there were slow periods. Now we are at 100 per cent occupancy most of the time, and every day is a hard day," he says.
A 2007 Australian Royal College of Nursing report, National Overview of Violence in the Workplace, included the following definition of bullying: "coercive, unethical activities which create an environment of fear through acts of: cruelty, belittlement/degradation, public reprimand, ridicule, insult, sarcasm, destructive criticism, persistent nitpicking or devaluation of a person's work efforts, trivialisation of views and opinions and unsubstantiated allegations of misconduct".
Lyn Turney, senior lecturer in sociology at Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology, says these less overt forms are the hallmark of bullying among the professions, whereas often bullying in the trades, for example, is more obvious -- and easier to deal with.
A number of factors in professional workplaces combine to create a toxic atmosphere ripe for bullying: highly competitive, high-achieving people with a master-apprentice power relationship built into the training process, says Turney. "High achievers are very vulnerable to bullying because they have so much to lose -- you may have spent half your life training to become a surgeon, and then you find yourself at the mercy of the more senior surgeon who has supreme power over your marks and reports."
Bullying often destroys self-confidence, says Turney. This often results in the victim becoming compliant and accepting of the behaviour, as one nurse in an Australian study tells: after many episodes of being directed with a point of the finger to stand silently in the corner while the more senior nurse took over the care of patients, she would "automatically follow the finger" in "non-thinking robotic mode" (Contemporary Nurse 2006;21:228-23).
Bullying is not confined to the health system, says Judith Meppem, former chief nursing officer of NSW, now investigating bullying at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital at the request of the Area Health Service.
However, the recent tumultuous times in the management of hospitals have a lot to do with creating a stressful environment that encourages bullying. "The hospitals have had constant change over the last 15 years, and the staff at the grassroots level are affected by it." Strong, consistent leadership that has the confidence to allow staff to disagree is what is needed, she says.
"All staff need to acknowledge that bullying is unacceptable, and that no one is exempt -- including senior people," says Meppem.
And unless all staff are on board nothing will change, she says. If someone is benefiting from the current situation, they will sabotage any efforts to get rid of bullying.
Associate professor Stephen Bolsin, anaesthetist at Geelong Hospital, says the current training system seems to teach junior doctors a "hidden curriculum" of keeping quiet if they see more senior staff committing unsafe practices.
Bolsin himself reported a higher than usual death rate of babies undergoing cardiac surgery at the Royal Bristol Infirmary in the UK in the 1990s -- then found himself unable to get a job anywhere in the UK and so relocated to Australia.
Bullying has been a problem in medicine for a long time, he says. "I remember training with a surgeon who did not consider his day complete unless he had reduced a nurse to tears, and another who threatened female medical students and junior doctors with a negative reference if they wore trousers to work."
Exposure to bad role models perpetuates the problem, he says. "Some of the medical schools are repositories of the worst behaviour, but they don't subscribe to the view that they are bad role models," says Bolsin.
However, there are some strategies to help the profession break out of the current cycle. For example, making the reporting process easier greatly increases the likelihood of junior staff speaking up, he says.
"We also need to evaluate the behaviour of teaching staff and reduce students' exposure to bad role models and increase their exposure to good role models," says Bolsin.
This is the first in our new series of quarterly surveys of employee attitudes, exploring the fast-changing world of work and emerging challenges for individuals, employers and policy-makers. It's based on a representative sample of more than 3,000 people in employment in the UK.
The report covers:
job satisfaction
employee loyalty
employee views of their immediate line manager
employee perceptions of their senior management
employee well-being
bullying and harassment at work
work-life balance and flexible working
the effect of the downturn on employee attitudes
the organisational impact of the recession
employee views on the future
and challenges facing organisations in the next five years.
High level of concern among staff prompts demand for action on issue
AN embarrassing report on Irish Rail exposes high levels of bullying and of sexual harassment in the state transport company.
The report, obtained by the Sunday Independent, reveals that almost a third of staff surveyed were bullied or harassed and many employees had "no confidence" in the company's ability to deal with their complaints.
Almost 30 per cent of those surveyed said they were bullied; almost 27 per cent said they had been harassed; and seven per cent said they had been sexually harassed.
It found "high levels of perception of sexual harassment, harassment and bullying in the workplace . . . although, officially, the organisation only deals with a small number of cases annually".
Staff also "lacked confidence" in management's ability to deal with the allegations and observed that "bullying is clearly an area that requires urgent action on the part of Iarnrod Eireann".
The report was completed in 2007, but staff were not circulated with its findings until earlier this year. The findings are embarrassing for the CIE Group, as they confirm that bullying and harassment remain rife in the state transport sector. A similar report on Bus Eireann a number of years ago found even higher levels of bullying, with more than 36 per cent of staff claiming they had been victimised.
Irish Rail has dealt with a number of bullying claims in the past and one former employee currently has a case before the Equality Tribunal.
According to the equality review, Irish Rail's equality office had dealt with 24 cases of bullying and harassment in 12 months, which did not reflect the number of official cases dealt with by the company. With almost one fifth of Irish Rail's 5,000-strong workforce surveyed, the findings suggest that about 300 employees claimed they were bullied; 270 claimed they were harassed; and 70 say they were sexually harassed.
Levels of perceived bullying were much higher than in other employment sectors. A national workplace survey by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) two years ago recorded levels of bullying at seven per cent, while only one per cent of employees experienced sexual harassment.
"Overall, it is clear that bullying is an issue of great concern to the staff that responded to the survey. It would appear that to relieve their concerns, the issue needs to be reviewed by the company," the report said.
While employees were mostly happy with their working conditions and a majority found their jobs rewarding, the company was perceived to be male dominated.
Women complained that men were more likely to be promoted, and absence of women in senior management roles was also noted. Older workers claimed there was a practice of "bullying out" older staff. Black African and Asian staff said they were well treated by the company but reported occasional rudeness or racism from customers.
The review also praised the "many positive initiatives" introduced by the company, including an equality programme instigated by the state company in 1998. The report said that the efforts of the equality officer needed to be "matched by an effective response" from local supervisors and managers.
A spokesman for Irish Rail said the equality audit's findings were circulated to staff and management earlier this year. "Our trade unions were fully involved in this process and we will continue to work with them to implement the action plan," he added.
Sexual Harassment / Harassment based on Sex in the Workplace getting more attention and focus..........in the EU at least.
The European Parliament and the Council took a bold step toward prohibiting sexual harassment throughout workplaces in the European Union (EU) when it recently enacted amendments to the 1976 Equal Treatment Directive (European Parliament and the Council, 2002). The public policy objective of Directive 2002/73/EC (hereafter, "the Directive") is to harmonize the Member States' laws regarding the equal treatment of men and women. As Member States (currently 15 nations, soon to be 25) adopt laws implementing the Directive, sexual harassment will be recognized as a form of gender-based discrimination throughout the EU.
In June 2004, a report was commissioned for the European Union, by the government of Ireland in conjunction with FGS Consulting to establish the position of EU member states and their progress to fight against Sexual Harassment and Harassment based on Sex in the Workplace.
Some of the findings included
Limited existence of Codes of Practice dealing with Sexual Harassment across the EU countries
Only 4 countries have legally binding Codes of Practice
Low level of coverage of Sexual Harassment/Harassment based on Sex in Collective Agreements
Indicators that Sexual Harassment has not achieved a high level of priority within the context of Collective Bargaining.
In most systems, indiviual harassers, as well as employers may be held liable for Sexual Harassment
Sigificant variation as to liability when Sexual Harassment occurs outside the workplace/normal working hours
Little consistency of practice to which bodies complaints of Workplace Sexual Harassment can be bought to, support mechanisms available to the complainant, or remedies for Sexual Harassment
One person in 10 has suffered from some form of bullying, harassment or violence at work. The most vulnerable are women and those who work on temporary contracts although men are also vulnerable in the workplace. On 27 November 2007 the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality held a hearing to discuss the level of sexual harassment at work. The hearing brought together experts in the field and MEPs from across the political spectrum. The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions published a background paper to support this special hearing. The paper sets out some of the findings from the most recent EWCS data collected in late 2005. It is based on interviews with nearly 30,000 workers in 31 European countries, including all of the Member States. It looks at the data primarily in relation to psychological as opposed to physical forms of violence. In the survey, the question on bullying refers to ‘bullying / harassment’ while the question on exposure to ‘unwanted sexual attention’ in the previous twelve months is used as a proxy for sexual harassment. In order to simplify the presentation, this paper differentiates between workplace ‘bullying’ on the one hand and ‘sexual harassment’ on the other. These are distinct and quite separate phenomena but working women are exposed to a higher risk than men for both and the survey is used to investigate some of the reasons why this is the case. Certain sectors, such as health, education and hotels/restaurants, show high levels of bullying and harassment. The report recommends that it is therefore appropriate to consider specific interventions in designed for specific employment sectors to combat psychological violence. Such interventions should take into account that many of the sectors affected have an over-representation of female employees.
