Punched from the Screen - workplace cyber bullying becoming more widespread

Cyber bullying - using modern such as e-mails, texts or web-postings - is as common in the workplace as 'conventional' bullying. Yet, the way cyber bullying influences both the victim and witnesses is more hidden in the workplace. These are the findings of 'Punched from the Screen' - new research into workplace bullying carried out by occupational psychologists at The University of Nottingham and the University of Sheffield. Iain Coyne from The University of Nottingham's Institute of Work, Health and Organisations , said: "The study shines a light on this relatively new phenomenon. We believe our research is likely to have implications for the way that employers formulate policies and guidelines relating to cyber bullying and the seminar will be an opportunity for us to discuss our findings and learn about the experiences of other employers." The study was carried out by Coyne and Christine Sprigg, Carolyn Axtell and Sam Farley from the University of Sheffield. Of the 320 people who responded to the survey around eight out of ten had experienced bullying behaviour on at least one occasion in the previous six months. Employers need to tackle cyber bullying - Until now the impact of cyber bullying has mainly focused on younger people, in environments such as schools, rather than adult workers.