1 out of every 4 employees is subject to workplace bullying: survey

Chicago – Although 27 percent of employees experience workplace bullying, the majority do not confront or report the behavior, indicates a survey released April 20 by the job search website CareerBuilder.

Women were more likely targets, with 34 percent of female respondents reporting bullying compared with 21 percent of males. Younger and older workers also were more likely to experience bullying than those 35-44 years old.

Common forms of bullying included having comments dismissed, and being falsely accused of mistakes, criticized, belittled and gossiped about.

Less than half of employees confronted their bully, but among those who did, 43 percent said the bullying stopped as a result while 13 percent reported that the bullying became worse. Among those workers who took bullying complaints to human resources, 62 percent reported that no action was taken.

“Bullying is a serious offense that can disrupt the work environment, impact morale and lower productivity,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “If you are feeling bullied, keep track of what was said or done and who was present. The more specifics you can provide, the stronger the case you can make for yourself.”