Survey Finds the American Workplace is Toxic

A survey by a market research group has found that about half of American workers – 77 million people – are affected by workplace bullying.

The survey by  Radius Global Market Research found that 60 percent of American workers report having witnessed a coworker being bullied.

Radius Vice President Jill Gress notes that toxic work environments can severely impact employee productivity and job satisfaction.

Here are some additional survey results:

  • Despite the proliferation of digital channels, such as email, texting and social media, 81 percent of respondents said they experienced or witnessed bullying in person;
  • The most common form of mistreatment is being ridiculed or reprimanded in front of other staff (29 percent), followed by being harassed based on looks or body type (23 percent), work attire (23 percent), pressured to take on a specific task (23 percent) or coerced to work extra hours (22 percent).
  • Nearly 60 percent of respondents said bullying was most often committed by coworkers, followed by a manager (39 percent) or company executive (23 percent). One in five experienced bullying from a subordinate.
  • Most targets of bullying confront the offender or discuss the issue with an HR representative but nearly one in four take no action.
  • Of workers who specifically experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace, 44 percent reported the problem remains unresolved.
  •  One in three workers admitted to behaving in ways that are considered bullying, while not intentionally meaning to be hurtful or insensitive.

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