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Bullying and harassment of doctors in the workplace report

May 2006

Introduction
Bullying and harassment in the workplace is not a new problem. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) [go to note 1], over the past 20 years, organisations have moved from the perception that ‘it doesn’t happen here’ to acceptance and the introduction of policies attempting to address the problem. Workplace bullying and harassment has been recognised in all sectors of the workforce. A recent survey of City workers in London found that almost a third of those surveyed had experienced bullying at work, with more saying they had witnessed others being bullied and harassed [go to note 2]. A survey of HR professionals found that just over half of respondents said that they have been bullied at work [go to note 3] and significant levels of bullying by managers in government departments have also been identified [go to note 4]. A survey undertaken by UNISON found that two-thirds of its members had either experienced or witnessed bullying and harassment in the workplace [go to note 5].

It has been estimated that workplace bullying affects up to 50 per cent of the UK workforce at some time in their working lives, with annual prevalences of around 40 per cent [go to note 6]. According to one estimate, workplace bullying and harassment costs employers 80 million lost working days and up to £2 billion in lost revenue each year. It also accounts for around 50 per cent of stress-related workplace illnesses [go to note 7].

It has been suggested that bullying and harassment in the National Health Service (NHS) is a widespread and serious problem, which needs to be viewed in the context of various organisational settings and manifestations [go to note 8]. Evidence suggests that the prevalence of bullying and harassment in both medicine and the NHS more generally, is high [go to notes 8, 9, 10 and 11] One in 10 callers to the UK National Bullying Advice line are healthcare professionals, including nurses and GPs. Results of a CHI survey [go to note 12] found that more than a third of NHS staff had been bullied, harassed or abused by other staff, managers or patients and their relatives.