Bullying and harassment at place of work (follow up), 2008

Bullying is defined as regularly and continually subjecting an individual to unpleasant and/or degrading actions which the person is unable to defend against. Harassment is negative actions which can be part of the bullying but is carried out in a less systematic way. Common examples of bullying include regular withholding of information and frequent circulation of rumours about an employee. Social isolation in the workplace and harassment in the form of ridicule and abusive remarks are other common forms of bullying. In two surveys on the psychological work environment conducted in 1997 and 2000 by the NRCWE about 6% of the respondents reported that they had been subjected to abusive remarks within the last year. Bullying and harassment most frequently occur in workplaces with a poor psychological work environment characterized by a poor social environment, lack of information, confusion regarding roles, conflicts and a vague, weak or authoritarian management. Furthermore the organisations'' culture and values are likely to be important factors in the occurrence and acceptance of bullying and harassment. The overall objective of the study is to gain knowledge of the causes for and consequences of bullying and harassment in the workplace. Furthermore it seeks to develop, test and evaluate methods for prevention of bullying and harassment and the rehabilitation of the bullied employees. More specifically the study aims at: 1. Determining the extent of bullying in the workplace. 2. Examining the long-term consequences of bullying and harassment on health, physiology, work and the social life in different lines of work including the effects on sick leave. 3. Testing two existing international psychometric tests: One is concerned with the typical actions associated with bullying; another is concerned with organizational factors which increases the risk of bullying and harassment. 4. Developing, testing and evaluating methods to prevent bullying and harassment in the workplace. 5. Developing, testing and evaluating interdisciplinary efforts aimed at the rehabilitation of employees who are on sick leave because of bullying and harassment.