A recent survey on bullying in the workplace revealed that one in seven Belgian employees felt "harassed" by colleagues or supervisors in 2022, with the figure failing to go down since 2021.
On Friday, the external service Liantis unveiled its findings, having queried 8,302 employees, of which 14.2% stated that they had experienced harassment at work last year.
Despite Belgian companies being obliged to identify the psychosocial risks posed to their employees, one facet of well-being at work they seem to have missed is potential bullying. Especially as the number of bullied employees in 2022 had not changed since 2021.
Liantis attributed the high figure to two different factors. Firstly, they offered no clear definition of harassment or bullying, which led many to testify about their experiences as they saw fit. Secondly, Liantis' expert Evy Sadicaris stated that employees were "fortunately" finding it easier to report such issues.
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Moreover, Sadicaris reminded employees of the steps they can take if they ever feel harassed, such as immediately turning to the company's human resources manager.
"If that is not possible, every employer is affiliated with an external prevention service that can support you," the contact details of which can be found in the employee's contract.
Sedaris still believes that more needs to be done on the employers' end to deter workplace bullying, by "creating a climate where such behaviour has little to no chance of occurring." She concluded that "they need to strive for an open culture in the workplace where people can engage in dialogue with each other, where people listen and look for solutions."
