GGCA survey finds 90% of public sector workers claim to have been bullied

Nine out of every 10 respondents in a survey of civil servants and public sector workers conducted by the GGCA union claim to have been bullied.

In a remarkable finding, the union said 90% of those who answered the survey said they have been bullied in the workplace.

“We feel it is very significant that 47% of the members do not report cases of bullying because they do not have faith in the managers resolving these kinds of issues and 27% have fear of making the situation worse, whilst 10% are scared of the repercussions of reporting such a matter,” the union said.

The survey was exploring views on mental welfare at work and was carried out by a private company on the union’s behalf in order to ensure anonymity.

The survey was primarily focused on how work could potentially impact on the mental welfare of employees.

A total of 87% of the union’s members in the civil service and public sector participated, of which 42% were male and 58% were female.

The survey found that 65% of respondents felt departments were not adequately staffed.

“As a consequence, 50% of civil and public servants are suffering from some sort of work related stress, out of which 22% have needed therapy,” the GGCA said in a statement.

The union said 12% of participants had been diagnosed with a mental disorder and 72% of that group had found that their work conditions aggravated their disorder.

Additionally, the survey found 80% of the employees felt there should be a drug-free workplace policy in conjunction with the unions, while 83% of this percentage believed that more education on a drugs free programme should be implemented and delivered.

“The GGCA would like to engage with the Human Resources Manager, the Chief Secretary and the Chief Minister [who is also the Minister for Industrial Relations] to discuss the results of the survey and the measures that can be put in place, in order to improve mental welfare at the work place,” the GGCA said.