Hidden cyberbullying is as common as conventional counterpart in the workplace

Cyberbullying through e-mail, text and web posts is as common in the workplace as conventional bullying but even more difficult to uncover, research by experts from the University of Sheffield has revealed. Occupational psychologists Christine Sprigg, Carolyn Axtell and Sam Farley of the University of Sheffield, together with Iain Coyne of the University of Nottingham, turned the focus of their investigation onto cyberbullying of adult workers, instead of younger people in schools, for which more research has taken place. The results of their research will be revealed at a seminar during the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) annual Festival of Social Science at an event in the Showroom Workstation, Paternoster Row, on Wednesday 7 Novemer 2012 from 5pm until 8pm. The team will also make suggestions on how employers should tackle and prevent cyberbullying in the workplace. Researchers believe that cyberbullying will become more important as communication technologies continue to evolve and become more widespread. The study included three separate surveys among employees in several UK universities, asking people about their experiences of cyberbullying in the workplace. Survey respondents were given a list of what can be classed as bullying, such as being humiliated, ignored or gossiped about, and were asked if they had faced such behaviour online and how often.