Friday, July 30, 2004
Tweet[IWS] NIOSH: Workplace BULLYING is Worker to Worker most often [28 July 2004]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
NIOSH Update:
Most Workplace Bullying is Worker to Worker, Early Findings From NIOSH Study Suggest [28 July 2004]
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-07-28-04.html
Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 401-3749
July 28, 2004
Most incidents of bullying in the workplace appear to be perpetuated by employees against one another, early findings from a study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggest.
The findings suggest that efforts to make changes at the organizational level to prevent bullying in the workplace should include steps to improve relationships among co-workers, and should not strictly focus on improving supervisor-employee and customer-employee relationships, the researchers said in reporting the preliminary results.
The study points to further research that would be needed before researchers could offer definitive recommendations for preventing bullying as a potential factor for work-related stress. The findings were reported at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, held July 28-Aug. 1, as a progress report on the study.
Since the results are based on a survey of a representative but small sample of respondents, other studies involving larger numbers of respondents would be needed to confirm the findings. In addition, other research would be needed in greater depth to identify the reasons for acts of bullying in the workplace, the circumstances in which bullying is most likely to occur, and specific measures for improving interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
Data reported from the survey indicate the following:
* 24.5 percent of the companies surveyed reported that some degree of bullying had occurred there during the preceding year.
* In the most recent incident that had occurred, 39.2 percent involved an employee as the aggressor, 24.5 percent involved a customer, and 14.7 percent involved a supervisor.
* In the most recent incident, 55.2 percent involved the employee as the victim,10.5 percent the customer, and 7.7 percent the supervisor.
Information was collected from key respondents at 516 private and public organizations; the respondents were human resources professionals or other individuals who were knowledgeable about their organization. The organizations ranged in size from five employees to 20,000 employees each. Bullying was defined as repeated intimidation, slandering, social isolation, or humiliation by one or more persons against another.
The study is part of NIOSHs research to identify factors associated with work-related stress and to recommend practical interventions. For further information about NIOSHs research and recommendations for reducing work-related stress, visit the NIOSH web page on work stress at <http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/stress/>
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky *
Director, IWS News Bureau *
Institute for Workplace Studies *
Cornell/ILR School *
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor *
New York, NY 10016 *
*
Telephone: (607) 255-2703 *
Fax: (607) 255-9641 *
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu *
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
New York, NY 10016
________________________________________________________________________
NIOSH Update:
Most Workplace Bullying is Worker to Worker, Early Findings From NIOSH Study Suggest [28 July 2004]
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/updates/upd-07-28-04.html
Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 401-3749
July 28, 2004
Most incidents of bullying in the workplace appear to be perpetuated by employees against one another, early findings from a study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) suggest.
The findings suggest that efforts to make changes at the organizational level to prevent bullying in the workplace should include steps to improve relationships among co-workers, and should not strictly focus on improving supervisor-employee and customer-employee relationships, the researchers said in reporting the preliminary results.
The study points to further research that would be needed before researchers could offer definitive recommendations for preventing bullying as a potential factor for work-related stress. The findings were reported at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, held July 28-Aug. 1, as a progress report on the study.
Since the results are based on a survey of a representative but small sample of respondents, other studies involving larger numbers of respondents would be needed to confirm the findings. In addition, other research would be needed in greater depth to identify the reasons for acts of bullying in the workplace, the circumstances in which bullying is most likely to occur, and specific measures for improving interpersonal relationships in the workplace.
Data reported from the survey indicate the following:
* 24.5 percent of the companies surveyed reported that some degree of bullying had occurred there during the preceding year.
* In the most recent incident that had occurred, 39.2 percent involved an employee as the aggressor, 24.5 percent involved a customer, and 14.7 percent involved a supervisor.
* In the most recent incident, 55.2 percent involved the employee as the victim,10.5 percent the customer, and 7.7 percent the supervisor.
Information was collected from key respondents at 516 private and public organizations; the respondents were human resources professionals or other individuals who were knowledgeable about their organization. The organizations ranged in size from five employees to 20,000 employees each. Bullying was defined as repeated intimidation, slandering, social isolation, or humiliation by one or more persons against another.
The study is part of NIOSHs research to identify factors associated with work-related stress and to recommend practical interventions. For further information about NIOSHs research and recommendations for reducing work-related stress, visit the NIOSH web page on work stress at <http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/stress/>
_____________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
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# posted by SBasefsky : 1:36 PM
