A new survey of Australian workers has found that workplace bullying has doubled in 12 months, as have the incidence of conflicts between co-workers, according to HR think tank Reventure.
The 2017 Snapshot of the Australian Workplace provides comparative insight into job satisfaction, the impact of technology, performance and health from 2016 to 2017.
Lead researcher, Dr Lindsay McMillan said the increase in the number of workers reporting workplace bullying was among the most concerning findings from the survey of 1,000 workers.
“One in five Australian workers surveyed said they experienced verbal abuse or bullying in their current job in the last 12 months,” Dr McMillan said. “Conflict in the workplace also doubled, 30 per cent of workers report that they had a conflict with a co-worker in the last 12 months.”
Dr McMillan also said that workplace bullying and conflict is found in all industries, not just white-collar office jobs and that the perpetrators are not always who you expect.
“Last year 147 paramedics were assaulted in Victoria whilst on the job and recent reports have once again confirmed how retail staff are often on the receiving end of abuse from customers,” he said. “It is high time we stamped out bullying in the workplace which costs the economy $6 billion to $36 billion a year according to the Productivity Commission.”
He noted that workplace bullying leads to absenteeism, presenteeism and ultimately a higher turnover rate which sometimes goes unexplained because most workplace bullying goes unreported.
“The advice for employers is to provide support in industries that face abuse from the public, and for employees to speak up about workplace bullying wherever the source, ” Dr McMillan concluded.
