One-fifth of employees ‘feel bullied by their boss’

Posted 15/07/2010

A fifth of UK employees feel victimised by their boss at work, a new survey has discovered.

Research carried out by HR consultancy Reabur found that out of the 1,250 people polled, 21 per cent feel bullied by their manager, while a further 28 per cent think they are being picked on by another member of staff.

Some 48 per cent said they feel it is their appearance which is causing them to be picked on, while 29 per cent thought it was because of jealousy over their status in the office.

Women were more likely to feel victimised than men, although men were found to be the ones doing the ‘bullying’ most often.

Reabur spokeswoman Georgina Read said workplace bullying is not being taken seriously enough.

‘All allegations should be taken seriously and investigated, as getting to the route of the problem will create a better workforce and office environment,’ she added.

Employment organisation Acas recently said it noticed that allegations of bullying at work increased during the recession.