One in ten workers ‘suffer rude behaviour’

Every week, more than one in ten UK employees claim to have suffered rude behaviour in the workplace, new research by a HR professor has revealed.

According to the Telegraph, Charlotte Rayner, a professor of human resources management at Portsmouth University Business School, has been researching the issue of workplace bullying since the 1990s.

And while she has discovered physical violence is rare, the same cannot be said for verbal bullying, she has revealed.

In addition to workers facing rude behaviour, 12 per cent claimed to feel intimidated at least once a week while at work.

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Furthermore, on 80 per cent of occasions, the bully in question was alleged to be a boss or line manager.

Ms Rayner noted the three main areas where Britons feel they are being attacked include having their work criticised and feeling isolated or excluded.

“If I’m an employer in that circumstance I’d definitely treat people well because the best people would come and work for me,” she stated.

Joy Drummond, employment partner at law firm Simpson Millar, writing for building.co.uk, recently advised businesses to take care to ensure workplace banter does not become bullying or harassment.