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One in seven workers experience workplace abuse, survey reveals

The findings from the Skills and Employment Survey revealed that 14% of employees were subjected to some form of abuse, including bullying, physical violence or sexual harassment.

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One in seven workers experience workplace abuse, survey reveals
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One in seven workers experienced workplace abuse over the past year, with nurses, teachers and night shift workers facing the highest risks, according to new data from the Skills and Employment Survey 2024 funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The findings revealed that 14% of employees were subjected to some form of abuse, including bullying, physical violence or sexual harassment.

Among nurses, the abuse rate soared to 39%, while 31% of teachers and 24% of night workers also reported mistreatment.

Women were nearly twice as likely as men to face abuse, with 19% reporting incidents compared to 10% of male workers.

Sexual harassment in particular disproportionately affected women and LGBTQ+ employees.

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While 4.1% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment, the rate fell to 0.7% among men.

LGBTQ+ workers were more than three times as likely to experience sexual harassment than their heterosexual colleagues, at 6.5% versus 2%.

The public sector showed significantly higher levels of physical violence, with 12% of workers affected compared to just 4% in the private sector.

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Jobs involving direct interaction with people – particularly those requiring counselling, advising or carin – were more prone to abuse, with 18.2% of such workers affected.

By contrast, home or hybrid working appeared to offer a degree of protection, with only 8% of remote workers reporting abuse.

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Those working at home exclusively faced less than a quarter of the risk of violence compared to those in mobile roles.

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Young women under 35 were particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment, with 6.7% reporting incidents.

Ethnic disparities also emerged as Black African and Caribbean employees reported higher rates of bullying (12.7%) and violence (9.3%) than white workers, while Asian employees were the least likely to report any form of abuse.

Religious minorities, including Jews, Sikhs and Buddhists, were more likely than others to report abuse in the workplace, with 25.7% affected.

Abuse was most prevalent in health, social care and education, especially in hospitals, residential care and schools.

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Public sector staff overall reported abuse at nearly double the rate of private sector workers, at 19.9% compared to 11.6%.

The occupations with the lowest abuse rates included finance professionals, business and administrative roles, and functional managers, where reports ranged from 2% to 9%.

Bullying was the most commonly reported form of abuse at 9%, followed by physical violence at 6.9% and sexual harassment at 2.4%.

The impact on workers’ mental and physical wellbeing was substantial, with victims more likely to suffer from job dissatisfaction, stress, sleep deprivation, depression and even suicidal thoughts.

Abuse also contributed to economic inactivity as nearly 28% of victims said they were likely to leave their job, compared to 15% of workers who had not experienced abuse.

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While workplace harassment linked to protected characteristics is illegal under the Equality Act 2010, the data suggested the problem remains widespread.

A legal duty on employers to actively prevent sexual harassment came into effect in October 2024, but researchers argued more needs to be done.

The report recommended that Government statisticians regularly monitor and publish abuse data using the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, warning that relying on industry bodies or journalists will not provide a complete picture.

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