Að verða fyrir einelti og annarri áreitni á vinnustað hefur alvarlegar afleiðingar fyrir bæði
þolandann og vinnustaðinn og einelti hefur jafnvel verið talið meiri skaðvaldur fyrir þolendur
heldur en öll önnur vinnutengd streita samanlögð. Markmið rannsóknarinnar var að
kanna algengi eineltis, áreitni og ofbeldis á vinnustað meðal félagsmanna aðildarfélaga
Kennarasambands Íslands (KÍ). Rafrænn spurningalisti var sendur til 9.839 félagsmanna
KÍ í febrúar 2017. Svör bárust frá 4.518 félagsmönnum eftir þrjár ítrekanir (46%). Niðurstöð-
ur rannsóknarinnar sýna að rúmlega 10% félagsmanna höfðu orðið fyrir einelti á vinnustað
á síðustu tveimur árum. Tæp 2% höfðu orðið fyrir kynferðislegri áreitni, rúm 3% fyrir
kynbundinni áreitni og 5% fyrir hótunum og ofbeldi í störfum sínum. Athygli vekur hversu
mörg málanna varðandi einelti og aðra áreitni á vinnustað voru ekki tilkynnt en alvarlegast
er þó hversu mörg mála af þessu tagi voru tilkynnt og ekkert var gert. Það átti við í um
fimmtungi eineltismála, tæpum 16% mála varðandi andlegt ofbeldi og tæpum 15% mála
varðandi kynferðislega áreitni. Lang algengast var að stjórnendur og vinnufélagar voru
nefndir sem gerendur í eineltismálum og vinnufélagar í málum varðandi kynferðislega og
kynbundna áreitni. Nemendur voru nær eingöngu nefndir þegar spurt var um líkamlegt ofbeldi.
Hægt er að álytka út frá hlutfalli þeirra sem hafa orðið fyrir einelti, áreitni og ofbeldi á
vinnustað að slík hegðun sé alvarlegt vandamál á vinnustöðum félagsmanna KÍ. Ástæða er
til þess að stjórnendur KÍ taki niðurstöðunum alvarlega og leitist við að finna rót vandans
í því augnamiði að uppræta einelti, áreitni og ofbeldi á vinnustað, félagsmönnum til heilla.
Well-being at work is essential for every employee as it can have a significant impact
on their lives. A healthy workplace is one where employees feel safe and satisfied,
and support good health and well-being at work. According to Act no. 46/1980, the
employer is obliged to ensure a safe and healthy working environment. The debate on
work-related violence such as bullying, harassment, threats and mental and physical
violence is essential when discussing work-related health and safety as it may adversely
affect the well-being of employee at work. Bullying and other harassment at work
can have serious consequences for both the victim and the workplace. It has even
been considered more harmful to the victims than all other work-related stress.
The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of bullying, harassment, threats and mental and physical violence in the workplace among members of The Icelandic
Teachers’ Union. In February 2017, an electronic questionnaire was sent with a request
for participation in the survey to 9,839 members through SoGoSurvey online
survey software. Responses were received from 4,518 members after three reminders
(response rate 46%). The majority of participants were women (83.6%).
The results of the study show that more than 10% of participants reported being bullied
at work in the last two years. Nearly 2% reported being sexually harassed at
work and 3% had experienced gender-based harassment. About 5% had experienced
threats, and physical violence at work and nearly 13% reported being exposed to
mental violence at work in the previous two years. The statistically higher proportion
of men (12%) than women (10%) had experienced being bullied at work in the last two
years.
Attention is drawn to how many cases of bullying, harassment, threats or mental
and physical violence at work was not reported or in 63-79% of the cases. Most commonly,
participants had reported physical violence or in 37% of the cases and 33% of
bullying cases were reported. Only a fifth of the participants who reported that they
had been sexually harassed at work reported the incident. The most serious result is
however how many cases of work-related violence were reported, but no action had
been taken. That was the case for 61% of the reported bullying cases, 55% of reported
physical violence cases and 52% of reported cases of sexual harassment. The proportion
was lower for reported cases of gender-based harassment or 39% and 37% of
the cases regarding threats at work.
It was common for participants who reported bullying at work to experience that their
professional opinion or point of view at work was ignored (56%), 45% experienced
to be minimized or mocked at work, 42% had been subjected to disproportionate criticism
at work, and 40% had experienced social exclusion.
The most common perpetrators were co-workers in cases of bullying (57%), sexual
harassment (66%), gender-based harassment (68%) and mental violence (43%). Supervisors
were often mentioned as perpetrators in cases of bullying (48%) and incidents
of mental violence (40%). The perpetrators of the physical violence were almost
exclusively the students (in 95% of the cases) and about half of cases of threats.
Based on the proportion of those who have suffered bullying, sexual harassment,
gender-based harassment, threats and mental and physical violence at work, workrelated
violence has become a severe problem in teacher‘s workplaces. Perhaps
long-term dissatisfaction with remuneration is part of the problem. The results show
that it is vital to enhance public debate on work-related violence as well as increased
knowledge among employees and supervisors about work-related violence and
the adverse consequences of bullying, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment,
threats and mental and physical violence at work on health and well-being of
employees.
