Issue Women are as likely as men to be bullies at work, according to a recent survey, but the victim is far more likely to be female than male. The survey of 1,335 victims who visited the bullybusters.org Web site between March 1 and May 30 also found that women target women 84 percent of the time, and men target women 69 percent of the time. On the whole, the survey found, women are the target in three-quarters of bullying cases. But in 14 percent of the cases, the bully is of the same rank as the target, and 5 percent of the time, the bully is in a lower-ranked job than the victim. The problem, he says, is that employers often chalk up workers' complaints to personality conflicts and don't take care of the problem.
HR often fails to act or makes the situation worse for the target, survey participants say.
Namie says there's no law on the books such as those against sexual or racial harassment to make employers take action. He says victims of bullying often have few legal options at their disposal. Only 8 percent could have claimed their civil rights were violated because they are a member of a protected class and their harasser is not. The only positive response to bullying came from spouses or partners and friends from outside the company. Spouses and partners had positive responses 85 percent of the time, with women acting more supportive of their partners than men, and outside friends had positive responses 79 percent of the time.