Three-quarters of employees said job insecurity stops them standing up to bullies

A poll of more than 1,500 workers found that 91 per cent felt their organisation did not deal with bullying at work adequately.

The survey from charity Family Lives also found that 66 per cent of respondents witnessed bullying at work. More than two-fifths (43 per cent) said they were bullied by their line manager, 38 per cent were bullied by a colleague and 20 per cent bullied by a senior manager or chief executive.

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) said the bullying they experienced was verbal including threats, while a similarly high proportion (60 per cent) felt the bullying was social, for example being excluded, ignored and isolated. And more than a third said that bullying they’d experienced had continued for over a year.

Survey respondents said that anxiety associated with workplace bullying had negatively affected their emotional health and well-being.

Worryingly,  78 per cent of respondents feel the financial climate and shortage of jobs stops individuals standing up to workplace bullying, 74 per cent said that it affected their family life and close relationships.

A fifth said they had been signed off work with stress caused by harassment and more than double this proportion (44 per cent) sought medical advice or counselling.

One respondent told the survey: “I was blamed for errors made by other staff so my work productivity greatly reduced as I was constantly checking database information that other staff compiled to ensure I was not blamed for any errors.

“I was asked to do work a certain way and then it was denied the request had been made. I became anxious, unable to eat and sleep. I dreaded going to work so much that I made myself ill until I was eventually diagnosed with anxiety, depression and work stress.”

Although, 44 per cent of respondents felt they needed to take official action to get the bullying stopped, another respondent commented: “HR are there to protect management and the organisation. You are made to feel a trouble maker.”

And another said: “Management are very weak and choose to ignore problems, bullying or otherwise, rather than to deal with them.”

Jeremy Todd, Family Lives chief executive, said: “With New Year Resolutions firmly on the agenda, January is often the month when unsettled and distraught employees actively seek alternative employment. Our survey indicates this is often as a result of a breakdown in employee/employer relations.”

He added: “Workplace bullying is undoubtedly going to impact on family life. It would be very hard for anyone not to bring troubles home from work, but the pressure that a situation at work can put on relationships can make family life extremely turbulent. Support is out there and we would encourage people not to ignore incidents hoping that they will rectify themselves. The workplace should be an environment of professionalism, respect and courtesy and whilst many employers are committed to establishing a bullying-free zone, it is clear that work still needs to be done.“