The Education Manager

With the new AMiE partnership now underway, all future postings can be found at The Education Manager.

3.5 Million Bullied At Work

Three and a half million people (14 per cent or one in seven of the workforce) say they have been bullied in their current job according to a YouGov poll for the TUC published today (Friday). 21 per cent (one in five) say that bullying is an issue where they work.

Bullying is more likely in the public sector where 19 per cent say they have been bullied compared to 12 per cent in the private sector and eight per cent in the voluntary sector.

Surprisingly people in professional and associate professional jobs are the most likely to be bullied (16 per cent). This may reflect the large number of professional and associate professional jobs in the public sector such teaching, and across the NHS.

Men are more likely to be bullied (16 per cent) than women (12 per cent). 45-54 year olds (19 per cent), followed by 35-44 year olds (17 per cent) are the age groups most likely to be bullied. 25-34 year olds are the least bullied (8 per cent).

The East Midlands workforce is the most bullied at 18 per cent, with the East of England the least (eight per cent).

It is not the low paid who are most likely to say they are bullied. Those earning less than £20,000 report much less bullying than those earning between £20,000 and £60,000. (17 per cent). But among those earning above £60,000 only seven per cent say they are bullied.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘This level of bullying at work is completely unacceptable. It is particularly disturbing that more people complain of bullying in the public sector. Every organisation needs to have an anti-bullying policy, and every manager should ensure that there is zero-tolerance of bullying either by line managers or workmates.’

Recognition and awareness of workplace bullying is essential if it is to be legitimately challenged. The TUC fully supports and endorses the work of the Andrea Adams Trust, who run a national annual campaign to raise awareness of the issue, culminating in Ban Bullying at Work Day held on 7 November.

Andrea Adams Trust Chief Executive Lyn Witheridge said: ‘We encourage every employer to become involved and use this opportunity to participate in the wide array of activities provided by the Ban Bullying at Work Day campaign.’

One in Four Not Satisfied With Job

Six million workers (24 per cent or one in four of the UK workforce) are not satisfied with their job – and almost one in three (30 per cent) do not feel engaged by their employer, according to a new report from the TUC released today (Monday).

What workers want is based on an extensive YouGov poll of more than 2,500 people at work in Britain and published in the run up to the 140^th Congress which opens next week in Brighton.

The commonest problem that faces people at work is increased workload, with 11 million workers (46 per cent) complaining of this. This is followed by ‘pay not keeping up with the cost of living’ (42 per cent). The top problems group into three main headings:

• Workloads, stress and hours – the biggest complaint is of an increased workload (46 per cent), with 39 per cent complaining of increased stress levels and 23 per cent of longer working hours.
• Pay – just under half the workforce say that their pay has not kept up with the cost of living (42 per cent) and significant proportions say that their workplace has unfair pay structures (26 per cent) or they do not get the same pay as people doing similar jobs for other organisations (31 per cent).
• Training and progression – 30 per cent complain of poor promotion prospects and 27 per cent say they lack training – almost 7 million.

Significant minorities of the workforce complain of serious problems. Three and a half million people (14 per cent or one in seven of the workforce) say they have been bullied in their current job. Just under two and a half million say they work where it is unsafe. More than one and half million say they have been unfairly disciplined. The most commonly reported discrimination is on the grounds of age which is complained of by 640,000. Nearly six million say they suffer from boring or repetitive work.

The top attribute that people look for in a job is fair pay (98 per cent) but only 66 per cent say they enjoy their work. The next popular wish is largely met. Nine out of ten value ‘working with a great group of people’ (90 per cent), and 84 per cent say that they do. The biggest gap between aspiration and reality is ‘opportunities for promotion and advancement’, 73 per cent say this is important but only 34 per cent say that they experience this at work.

In the TUC report, unions get support not just from union members, but from working non-members too. Six out of ten workers (60 per cent) agree that ‘unions provide vital protection for many groups of workers’, with only one in eight (12 per cent) disagreeing. Only one in five (21 per cent) think that ‘unions are no longer relevant in today’s world’ and only slightly more (26 per cent) think that ‘unions hold back companies in today’s competitive world’. More non-members than not say that unions provide vital protection, agree that employees feel more involved in company decisions where employers talk to unions and reject the view that trade unions are no longer relevant in today’s world.

The issues that workers most want unions to raise with employers are first, pay (86 per cent), second, pensions (80 per cent) and third, safety (77 per cent). These traditional bread and butter issues are followed by excessive workloads (72 per cent), stress (69 per cent) and access to training (69 per cent).

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “There are some challenging figures here for British employers with a quarter of the workforce saying they are not satisfied with their jobs and almost one in three saying that their employers do not engage with them.

“While most employees are reasonably content with their lot, there is clearly a minority who are suffering from real problems such as bullying, dangerous workplaces and unfair discrimination. There may be no magic bullet for improving Britain’s productivity, but without engaging staff and providing the training and advancement opportunities they want we do not have much chance.

“But there is good news for unions. We are campaigning for the issues that matter to people at work, with TUC priorities getting the thumbs-up from both trade unionists and non-members too. There are lessons here for politicians. They must speak to workplace issues and the TUC’s agenda.”