management-issues bullying report

Bullying - the persistent devaluing demeaning or harassing of someone at work - seems to be on the rise. But modern workplace culture, with its unhealthy emphasis on 'doing whatever it takes', actually seems to be unwittingly encouraging bullies.

All too often, bad bosses bully others to hide their own inadequacies and incompetence and their organisations - either through fear, ignorance or disinterest - fail to tackle them head-on.

The cost to firms through absenteesim and lost staff is astronomical. But the cost to the victims of bullying can be incalculable.

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Essential Reading

Aggressive managers get ahead faster

Aggressive managers who blame others when things go wrong are more likely to get promoted than managers who feel guilty and accept responsibility for failure.

Help me confront my bullying boss

Anita's CEO is an arrogant bully who makes life for most of her staff a living hell. Staff turonover is sky high, yet no-one seems able or willing to deal with her. So short of quitting herself, is there anything Anita can do?

Kissing up, kicking down

Kowtowing to bullies is both morally and pragmatically wrong, as the pitiful decisions made by "kiss up, kick down" managers keep proving again, and again, and again.

Beware the corporate psycho

Have you ever secretly thought that a colleague – or even your boss – behaves like a psychopath? Well you may well be right.

Employer, yes. Dictator, no

When employers dictate what their employees can or cannot do in their own time, they have crossed the line. Big time.

Violence at work has reached epidemic levels

Violence at work, ranging from bullying to sexual harassment and even murder, has reached epidemic levels in some countries, according to a new report by the International Labour Organisation.

Employers failing to deal with bullies

Bullies use a wide range of subtle tactics and behaviour to intimidate colleagues at work, but victims' torment is being made worse by endless rounds of organisational change as well as ineffective action by employers.

Intimidation and bullying stopping women managers in their tracks

A macho environment of bullying and harassment is stopping women progress within the British workplace, according to a study by equal opportunities group Opportunity Now.

Latest on Bullying

Surviving a bullying boss

Linda's experience with an aggressive, abrasive boss epitomizes the distress and confusion that bullying causes in the workplace. The Boss Whisperer, Laura Crawshaw, has some invaluable advice to help Linda deal with her predicament.

Give us managers who can actually manage, beg UK workers

Most British workers feel they are managed by a bunch of dithering, uncharismatic functionaries and would give their eye teeth for a bit of decisive decision making.

Bullying more damaging than sexual harassment

Bullying managers who revel in a culture of criticism and are even more damaging than even those who consistently indulge in sexual harassment.

How do I deal with malicious gossip?

Gossip is ruining Aimee's life and her managers are unwilling to address the issue. Things have got so bad that she's thinking of leaving. But is there anything else she can do? Dr Rob Yeung has some ideas.

Help! I work for a tyrant

Ellen works for a self-serving sociopath who deals ruthlessly with anyone he perceives to be a threat. Dan Bobinski has some advice on how to start a low-key mass mutiny against him without getting terminated.

Managers blame themselves for workplace bullying

A UK survey has found that two-thirds at managers believe that their own behaviour is the major factor contributing to the problem of bullying at work.

Dealing with workplace gossip

For most of us, the idea of "workplace violence" conjures up images of physical harm. But there is another form of workplace violence that is just as dangerous and insidious - and that is gossip.

Bullies blight US workplaces

Bullying continues to cast a shadow of American workplaces, with three out of 10 HR execs saying they have seen an employee quit because of the way they have been treated.

Why fear rules the workplace

What is it that makes millions of people around the world, regardless of national culture, afraid of their bosses? The answer is that our workplaces are unwittingly designed to produce fear - and because all bosses are, by definition, dictators.

U.S. organizations encourage bullying

Organisational culture in many American workplaces actively encourages and even rewards bullying, according to new research, with employees in the U.S. bullied up to 50 percent more often than those in Scandinavia.

Psychopaths & sycophants

Far too many organisations are stuffed with sycophants prepared to overlook anything shady, illegal, or unethical as long as they are getting to hang around and share some power. Even if that means pandering to a corporate psychopath.

U.S managers too quick to blame others

Getting back into work mode after Christmas is hard enough at the best of times, but many of us are also returning to bosses who are negative, fail to keep their word and never take the blame for mistakes.

Battling against a bad boss

We've all heard of - or experienced – the foibles, tantrums or bullying behaviour of a bad boss. But just how big a problem are bad bosses, and what are their effects on employee health and job performance?

One fifth of employees victims of bullying

One fifth of all employees in the UK claim to have experienced some form of bullying or harassment over the last two years, according to new research.

Bullying causes misery across Europe

Fed up with feeling harassed and intimidated at work? If a new poll is to be believed, then move to the Netherlands for an abuse-free work environment. But avoid working in Hungary at all costs.

Rude, aggressive, bad mannered: welcome to the modern workplace

British workplaces are becoming infested with aggressive, rude, bullying behaviour at all levels, a new study has suggested.

UK infested with bad managers

Poor management is rife in the UK workplace with nine out of 10 employees claiming to have worked for a bad manager. And according to a new study, the problem is getting worse.

Employers get tough on workplace bullying

Employers in Britain are increasingly aware of the problem of workplace bullying and are getting tough in an effort to stamp it out, new research ahs found.

Two million people, many of them managers, bullied at work

Some two million people have been bullied at work in the past six months, latest figures have suggested – many of them managers and many of them by their managers.

Macho management plagues finance sector

Despite overwhelming evidence that macho management is totally ineffective, many senior managers in the finance sector are opinionated, arrogant bullies who blame their staff and take credit for the work of others.

Senior managers most bullied at work

Bullying is rife across British businesses, with senior managers often the ones most affected by psychological intimidation, according to new research.

Bosses are bureaucratic, unfair and inconsistent, say workers

Most workers reckon that their bosses are excessively bureaucratic, blame people wrongly and are inconsistent when it comes to making decisions, according to a damning report.

Organisations urged to curb bullies at work

A new guide has been published by Britain's Chartered Management Institute to help organisations manage and address the impact of bullying at work.

Ambitious, authoritative, assertive CEOs 'hold back businesses'

Being ambitious, assertive and authoritative will, as a chief executive, win you plaudits from your shareholders, but are also the most likely character traits to hold a business back, a consultancy has said.

Employees feel unable to report harassment at work

Misconduct, harassment and unethical activity remain rife in may organisations because a significant proportion of employees feel unable to report or challenge unacceptable behaviour.

Ireland's bullies face the sack

Workplace bullies in Ireland could be facing their comeuppance if tough new recommendations made by a bullying taskforce are adopted by the government.

How to nip boardroom bullies in the bud

Chairing the board traditionally requires strong leadership, but a board chair who bullies the top team into cowering submission can do more harm than good and risks killing the business altogether.

Growing past the tough-guy attitude

Some people are never taught how to make good choices. Either they are directed to make choices that others want them to make, or they are forced to make instinctive choices in the face of weak or absent significant relationships.

Taking stress seriously

Workplace stress is the biggest cause of sickness absence in the UK, resulting in 13.4 million lost working days each year, a new study claims.

This is who I am – deal with it

In all my years of consulting and coaching, perhaps the biggest problem I see in the workplace is people who don’t want to accommodate other people’s styles.

Where discernment ends and bullying begins

James Carton asks if the harsh put-down merely deters sensitive individuals, rather than the less talented. It is possible to uphold standards while remaining civil.

Testosterone-driven traders create culture of fear

London’s financial sector is plagued by a culture of intimidation, bullying, harassment and sexism with almost a third of workers saying that they have experienced bullying at work.

Bad bosses are bad for your health

Researchers have found that unfair bosses not only make working life a misery, they can also increasing the long-term risks to their staff of a heart attack or stroke.

E-mail bullying on the rise

E-mail bullying is on the increase, according to new research. One in six workers say they have experienced bullying by email. Some have even resigned rather than face more abuse.

Work rage - your experiences

Tensions are boiling in Britain's workplaces, according to new research. Have you experienced work rage - as a victim or perpetrator? Let us know your experiences.

Bullying bosses cause work rage rise

Growing pressure and insecurity at work is leading to a epidemic of workplace aggression as the lid blows off Britain's “pressure-cooker” workplaces.

Treat me bad, I get sick

Workers who get a treated badly at work are more likely go sick, researchers have found.

Employers feel vulnerable to being sued for causing stress

A survey of 5,000 UK employers reveals that 82 per cent feel "vulnerable and at risk" from being sued by their employees for causing workplace stress, discrimination, or for bullying.