The incidence of workplace bullying

This paper reports on a survey into workplace bullying carried out at Staffordshire University in 1994. The 1137 respondents were part time students at the University. Approximately half the sample reported they had been bullied during their working lives. Apart from the gender of the bully, there were no significant differences in the bullying experience between men and women in the parameters examined in this paper. Many people reported being bullied in groups, which is contrary to the current anecdotal evidence. Those who had not been bullied anticipated a more assertive reaction to the situation than those who had been bullied actually took. Data are presented and the findings are discussed, and future research potential identified.