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University bullying complaints rise

Images: Junming Huang; shawnwil23, via Shutterstock

 

Staff bullying complaints doubled at Cambridge and tripled at Imperial between 2017 and 2019

Bullying complaints among staff at Imperial College London more than tripled over the past three years—topping a list of Russell Group universities that provided data on the problem.

The university recorded 18 allegations of bullying made by staff in 2019. This was up from 10 in 2018 and fewer than five in 2017, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request. In a statement the university said it believed improved reporting processes in recent years had driven an increase in the figures.

“We have become better at identifying bullying cases, encouraging victims to come forward and at tackling the problem wherever it occurs,” the university said. “Despite these improvements, we are saddened that bullying persists and determined to eliminate it.”

Of the 20 universities that responded to the FOI request, the University of Cambridge recorded the second highest number of formal allegations: 12 in 2019 and in 2018, double the number in 2017. A spokesperson for the university said it “strives…to provide an inclusive and supportive working environment, where staff are—and feel—trusted and valued”.

They added: “Work in this area is at various stages, but includes the introduction of improved support services for staff, such as new ‘dignity at work’ contacts and professional mediators, the delivery of culture change and inclusive leadership training, and a review of the university’s investigations process.”

Several other Russell Group universities had fewer than five bullying allegations against staff in each academic year. The University of Oxford recorded three cases in 2016-17 and four in 2018-19.

Cardiff University’s reported cases doubled from three in the 2016-17 academic year to six in 2018-19. Over the same period, Durham University’s reported cases tripled to nine, and Sheffield University’s numbers rose from five to eight.

Meanwhile, the University of Exeter, University of Manchester, and Queen Mary University of London all saw decreases, from 12 to nine, 14 to four and 11 to seven, respectively. The University of Exeter figures also included harassment complaints.

Petra Boynton, an independent social psychologist and research consultant, said the data were “shocking and awful” because they are likely hiding the “true extent of the problem”, which goes beyond the reported and recorded cases.

Boynton believes bullying has become more insidious during the pandemic, with increasing numbers of university staff working from home.

“Some bullies are happy to continue bullying by email, and with everyone going online people are under more pressure,” she said. “There are so many things going on in people’s lives at the moment, such as bereavement from Covid-19, job insecurity and coping with racism, that makes everything harder to deal with.”

The universities of Birmingham, Edinburgh, King’s College London, Newcastle and UCL were unable to provide data.

University and College Union head of equality Jenny Sherrard told Research Professional News it was “incredibly disappointing” that so many universities had not provided data on bullying at their institution.

“Good data on the nature and outcomes of complaints is essential to identifying patterns and pockets of bullying and harassment, and to dealing with them appropriately,” she said, urging universities to “send a clear message that they will not tolerate bullying and harassment of any sort”.

“That means creating a healthy and supportive workplace culture, and having clear and accessible policies in place to deal swiftly and robustly with any issues that do arise.”

Earlier this year, the Wellcome Trust published “shocking” results of a research culture survey that revealed more than half—61 per cent—of researchers said they had witnessed bullying and harassment in the workplace, with 43 per cent claiming to have personal experience of it.

In May, public funder UK Research and Innovation published a draft policy aimed at preventing abuse, harassment and exploitation in research environments, as part of an extended consultation period before it comes into effect on 1 April 2021.

This article also appeared in Research Fortnight