Young and highly qualified workers harassed more

Giaccone, Mario

Ħarsa ġenerali

Artikolu

Young and highly qualified workers harassed more

Ippubblikat: 13 October 2011

Mario Giaccone

Is-saħħa u l-benesseri

The report on harassment at work (Il disagio nelle relazioni lavorative [1]) published in September 2010 by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat [2]) on behalf of the Equal Opportunities Department, summarises findings from the ad hoc module of the 2008–2009 Istat survey on citizens’ safety (Reati, vittime e percezione della sicurezza [3]).[1] http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/5191[2] http://www.istat.it/[3] http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/4089

A recent report by the Italian National Institute of Statistics, based on the findings of the ad hoc module of its 2008–2009 survey on citizens’ safety, found that 9% of respondents aged over 15 reported being harassed at work or suddenly deprived of their usual tasks over their working life, with women being more affected than men. Highly qualified workers were the most affected by harassment or task deprivation but few people had asked for professional or trade union support.

Introduction

The report on harassment at work (Il disagio nelle relazioni lavorative) published in September 2010 by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) on behalf of the Equal Opportunities Department, summarises findings from the ad hoc module of the 2008–2009 Istat survey on citizens’ safety (Reati, vittime e percezione della sicurezza).

Key findings

Harassment/sudden removal of assigned tasks

In the survey, 9% of workers reported having been harassed or deprived of their assigned tasks suddenly and without any apparent explanation during their working life (Table 1). This had happened to 6.7% of respondents during the last three years and 4.3% over the previous 12 months. Harassment alone was the most prevalent, reported by the majority of those affected. Women were more affected by harassment than men but the gap had narrowed when looking at a shorter time span; for instance, the gap in the level of harassment fell from 1.6 percentage points over respondents’ working life to only 0.2 percentage points over the last 12 months.

**Table 1: Harassment/deprivation of assigned tasks (%)**
	In working life			Last three years			Last 12 months
	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total
Harassment	5.0	6.6	5.7	3.8	4.6	4.1	2.7	2.9	2.8
Task deprived	1.9	1.8	1.9	1.5	1.3	1.4	0.9	0.9	0.9
Harassment or task deprived	8.3	9.9	9.0	6.3	7.1	6.7	4.2	4.5	4.3
Both harassment and task deprived	1.4	1.5	1.4	1.1	1.3	1.2	0.6	0.7	0.6

Note: Respondents aged over 15 years.

Source: Istat (2010)

Forms of harassment

The report assessed harassment according to the following five dimensions and their reports over the last three years (Table 2):

encroachment of freedom of expression and communication, reported by 91% of those harassed over the last three years and 89.5% of those affected over the last 12 months;
abusive social relations (including systematic isolation) reported by 50.4% of those harassed over the last three years and 51% of those affected over the last 12 months;
attacks on professional ability, reported by 63.9% of those harassed over the last three years and 60.4% of those affected over the last 12 months;
attacks on personality and reputation, reported by 64.1% of those harassed over the last three years and 63.9% of those affected over the last 12 months;
endangerment of health (including physical violence), reported by 3.9% of those harassed over the last three years and 2.7% of those affected over the last 12 months.

As these figures highlight, harassment usually affected more than one sphere. While women reported more verbal attacks, men reported more physical violence and attacks on their personal relations (Table 2).

**Table 2: Forms of harassment in the workplace (%)**
Type of harassment	Last three years			Last 12 months
	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total
Verbal attacks	89.3	92.8	91.0	87.4	92.0	89.5
Menaces	19.1	19.1	19.1	15.7	16.6	16.1
Professional attacks	63.9	63.9	63.9	61.8	58.5	60.4
Depriving people of means to achieve assigned tasks	39.9	35.9	38.0	40.1	33.2	37.0
Causing a temporary change of tasks in order to humiliate or embarrass	32.4	35.2	33.8	34.5	29.8	32.4
Discriminated in rewards (incentives/career opportunities)	31.3	29.2	30.3	30.8	28.3	29.7
Attacks on personality and reputation	63.4	64.9	64.1	64.4	63.4	63.9
Sexual harassment	4.6	11.5	7.9	3.6	11.4	7.1
Political and/or religious orientation	21.7	14.1	18.1	21.0	14.6	18.1
Attacks on social relations	50.8	49.9	50.4	53.1	48.5	51.0
Attacks on physical health (physical violence)	5.8	1.8	3.9	4.0	1.1	2.7

Source: Istat (2010)

Effect of age and educational attainment

Harassment or task deprivation is positively associated with educational attainment, attaining the highest scores among the most highly qualified (10.7% over their working life and 5.3% over the last 12 months). It is negatively associated with age but only when working life is excluded (Table 3).

**Table 3: Harassment or task deprivation at work by age and qualification (%)**
	In working life	Last three years	Last 12 months
Age
15–24 years	8.3	7.5	6.5
25–34 years	11.5	8.5	5.1
35–44 years	10.2	6.8	5.1
45–54 years	8.5	5.2	3.4
55–64 years	7.4	4.9	3.2
65 and over	5.1	2.6	1.2
Educational attainment
Primary or no qualification	4.4	3.2	2.5
Secondary compulsory qualification	8.7	5.9	3.4
Secondary upper qualification	10.3	7.3	4.8
Tertiary qualification	10.7	7.8	5.3

Source: Istat (2010)

Source of support

The share of those seeking professional support is quite low: 6.7% reported asking advice from a lawyer and 8.9% from a medical practitioner or psychologist. Similarly, only 12% of affected workers said they had applied to a trade union and 0.6% to an equal opportunities committee.

Commentary

The 2008–2009 ad hoc module of the Istat survey is one of the most comprehensive surveys investigating harassment in the workplace. Previous studies (since the late 1990s) have tended to focus on mobbing (the most extreme form of psychosocial attack) and the Institute for the Development of Vocational Training (Isfol) quality of work surveys, which looked solely at ‘sexual harassment’. Although the issue of sexual harassment is examined in both the Istat and Isfol surveys, differences in the reference population and timing do not allow comparisons.

The high figures among highly qualified and young workers appear consistent with labour market patterns, which tend to reward experience at work and seniority rather than formal competences, with a stronger role for personal relations with superiors – as highlighted by most studies on labour market (see for example Reyneri, 2002).

Reference

Reyneri, E. (2002), Sociologia del mercato del lavoro [Labour market sociology], Il Mulino, Bologna.

Mario Giaccone, Ires

Il-Eurofound jirrakkomanda li din il-pubblikazzjoni tiġi kkwotata kif ġej.

Eurofound (2011), Young and highly qualified workers harassed more, article.