Bullying and violence in the workplace are not regular topics which arise in Czech political debate. However, the Research Institute for Occupational Safety (Výzkumný ústav bezpečnosti práce, VÚBP [1]) includes the issue of psychological and physical violence in its field surveys, by examining and trying to map the extent of these problems in the country’s working life. This article draws on information from a paper presented by Lenka Svobodová at a conference on the ‘World of work and quality of life in the globalised economy’ in Prague in 2007, where the author presented a summary of VÚBP’s findings on workplace violence between 2004 and 2006.[1] http://www.vubp.cz/
In 2005, some 76% of economically active Czech citizens considered the low level of violence and bullying in the workplace as an important contributory factor in the quality of working life. Moreover, 75% of the workers surveyed expressed their satisfaction about the low incidence of these phenomena at work. An analysis of the survey findings reveals that the prevalence of workplace violence is linked to aspects such as high staff turnover, frustration and burnout.
Bullying and violence in the workplace are not regular topics which arise in Czech political debate. However, the Research Institute for Occupational Safety (Výzkumný ústav bezpečnosti práce, VÚBP) includes the issue of psychological and physical violence in its field surveys, by examining and trying to map the extent of these problems in the country’s working life. This article draws on information from a paper presented by Lenka Svobodová at a conference on the ‘World of work and quality of life in the globalised economy’ in Prague in 2007, where the author presented a summary of VÚBP’s findings on workplace violence between 2004 and 2006.
Survey findings
Importance of violence-free workplaces
According to the 2005 Quality of Working Life Survey which was carried out by the Public Opinion Research Centre (Centra pro výzkum veřejného mínění, CVVM) and VÚBP, the low incidence of bullying and violence in the workplace is an important aspect of working life. The survey findings are based on a sample of 1,063 respondents. Out of a total of 66 aspects characterising working life and the work environment, which were assessed by the survey respondents, the low incidence of bullying in the workplace represented a significant factor for 85% of economically active Czech citizens over the age of 15 years. Some 83% of survey respondents stated that the low incidence of physical violence is important to them, while 81% indicated that the low incidence of psychological violence is of great significance to them.
According to the survey responses, bullying and workplace violence was the 19th most important aspect in relation to the quality of working life and the work environment; other more important aspects regarding work included income level and legitimate pay, relations with superiors and colleagues, job security and overall job satisfaction.
Satisfaction with low incidence of workplace violence
Overall, 79% of the survey respondents declared that they were satisfied with the low incidence of bullying in the workplace, while 83% were satisfied with the low incidence of physical violence and 70% with the low incidence of psychological violence. When comparing the response rates in relation to the importance of a low incidence of bullying and workplace violence with those of being satisfied with this low incidence, some tension between these two response rates emerged: 6% of those who consider the low incidence of bullying in the workplace as an important factor are not satisfied with the extent of its incidence; in the case of psychological violence, this proportion amounts to 11%.
| Rank out of a total of 66 aspects in relation to work (according to attributed importance) | Aspect of work and working conditions | Importance (% of ‘definitely important’ and ‘important’ answers) | Satisfaction with level of incidence (% of ‘very satisfied’ and ‘satisfied’ answers) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Low incidence of bullying | 85 | 79 |
| 25 | Low incidence of physical violence | 83 | 83 |
| 32 | Low incidence of psychological violence (mobbing) | 81 | 70 |
Source: CVVM and VÚBP, Quality of Working Life Survey, 2005
Indicator for quality of working life
CVVM and VÚBP also conducted a follow-up survey on ‘Quality of Working Life’ in 2006. The 2006 survey had a response rate of 2,043 people and was part of the project entitled ‘Influence of changes in the world of work on quality of life’. The latter was financed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (Ministerstvo práce a sociálních věcí, MPSV) within the framework of its Modern society and its transformations (in Czech) programme.
In this follow-up survey, the 66 aspects characterising working life and the work environment were narrowed down to a final 18 aspects. The low incidence of violence and bullying in the workplace became one of the aspects determining the quality of working life. According to the 2006 survey responses, this aspect was ‘definitely important’ or ‘important’ to 76% of the economically active population. Some 75% of survey respondents expressed their satisfaction with the low incidence level of these negative phenomena in the workplace. In contrast, 5% of respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with the frequency of bullying and violence in the workplace.
Moreover, fewer respondents (76%) evaluated the low incidence of violence in the workplace as ‘definitely important’ or ‘important’ in 2006, compared with the responses of the previous survey in 2005, where between 81% and 85% of respondents assessed as important the low incidence of bullying, physical violence and mobbing in the workplace.
Sectoral distribution
The number of Czech employees who have experienced violence or bullying in the workplace is relatively low. Therefore, according to the survey results, it is impossible to identify an economic sector in which these phenomena may systematically occur more often. The same difficulty arises when it comes to identifying a category of workers who may be more often systematically exposed to violence in the workplace.
Between 2004 and 2006, VÚBP carried out three surveys at company level, which focused on the quality of working conditions in a broader context. Each of these surveys included a question on the presence of violence in the workplace. All of the companies’ employees were surveyed and, on average, two thirds of the employees responded to the questionnaire. The findings of these surveys indicated that the incidence of violence in the workplace differs significantly from one economic sector to another, as well as between the companies surveyed. While 26% of employees in a large transport company indicated that they had experienced violence in their workplace, only 11% of employees in two manufacturing companies stated that they had experienced such a phenomenon.
| Question: ‘Displays of bullying or violence occur in our workplace’ | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company and sector of economic activity | Total no. of respondents | Yes | No | Do not know | Did not answer |
| Manufacturing industry – sports’ shoes and equipment | 140 | 11 | 50 | 11 | 28 |
| Public transport | 254 | 26 | 63 | 11 | 0 |
| Manufacturing industry –machinery and automobile industry | 2,078 | 11 | 81 | 7 | 1 |
Source: VÚBP, Company surveys
Factors influencing incidence of workplace violence
When examining the incidence of such negative phenomena in the workplace, it becomes evident that violence in the workplace is determined by many factors. For instance, the quality of management, corporate culture and the overall level of work ethics have a particularly strong impact. The analysis of the company survey findings reveals that organisations with a lower incidence of workplace violence are usually characterised by a higher standard of organisation and management, greater commitment among workers to the company, an open communication structure, along with mutual respect and encouragement among workers. Conversely, a higher incidence of violence in the workplace is generally accompanied by a high staff turnover, hostility and bullying, as well as pressure resulting from corruption, and frustration and burnout (Svobodová, 2007, p. 9).
References
Svobodová, L., ‘Agresivita a násilí ohrožuje kvalitu života – měli bychom se bránit (135Kb PDF) [Aggression and violence jeopardise the quality of life – We should defend ourselves]’, Prague, Research Institute for Occupational Safety, 2007.
For further information at European level, see also the 2004 European Working Conditions Observatory ([EWCO](/search/node/ewco OR index?oldIndex)) report on Violence, bullying and harassment in the workplace.
Hana Dolezelova, Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs (RILSA)
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2008), Low level of violence in workplace, article.
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