As Anti-Bullying Week 2018 approaches (12–16 November) and with recent research revealing that 45 per cent of young people experience some form of bullying before the age of 18, TopCV, the largest CV-writing service in the world, asked professionals if they had ever been bullied in the workplace by a superior or a peer. With 81 per cent of UK respondents reporting that they have felt bullied by a boss or colleague, the results clearly demonstrate that bullying, unfortunately, seems to continue well into many careers.
Among female respondents, 84 per cent had felt bullied by a boss or colleague. Male respondents presented a similar picture, with 75 per cent claiming to have experienced workplace bullying, either by their boss or colleague. Bullying can take many forms, both online and offline. While bullying itself is not against the law, it is a form of abusive behaviour, be that verbal or physical. If a colleague or boss is behaving in an intimidating or offensive way, it could be classed as harassment ‒ which is illegal under the Equality Act 2010.
‘Although we may typically associate bullying with childhood playgrounds and teenagers “picking on one another online”, it is, unfortunately, a common reality for many adults in their place of work’, said Amanda Augustine, career advice expert for TopCV.
‘Despite a number of drives to promote inclusivity and brilliant initiatives such as Anti-Bullying Week aimed at increasing awareness about bullying in all settings - be that the classroom or the boardroom - the results of this survey show that there is still much more to be done,’ says Augustine. ‘The theme of this year’s campaign is “choose respect" – something which we could all do well to live by.’
