What is the share of employees who are even harassed or threatened?
Harassment and threats at work are alongside discrimination relevant factors.
The information is based on the self-assessment of the interviewees as part of a Europe-wide telephone survey on working conditions.
7% of employees were exposed to verbal or physical violence
In 2021, 7% of respondents said they had been subjected to bullying, harassment or violence in the past 12 months. At 5%, 16 to 24 year olds said they experienced these forms of harassment in their everyday work the least often, while 8% of the 35 to 44 year olds were affected the most.
Overall, at 7%, men experienced bullying, harassment or violence slightly more often than women (6%).
Almost every ninth employee received insults or threats
Looking specifically at the last month, a total of 11% of those surveyed in 2021 stated that they had received insults or threats. There is no apparent difference between men and women in this regard.
In terms of age, it can be seen that overall the group of 16 to 24-year-olds (16%) was most frequently confronted with insults and threats, while employees aged 55 and over (8%) reported such harassment the least.
Unwanted sexual assaults were much less common: 2% of those surveyed in 2021 stated that they had experienced sexual harassment at work in the last month.
| Kind of Harassment | Total | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|---|
| / = No response, because numerical value is not reliable enough. Source: European Working Conditions Survey (EWCTS) 2021. | |||
| During the last 12 months | |||
| Bullying, harassment and violence | 7 | 6 | 7 |
| During the last moonth | |||
| Verbal abuse or threats | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Unwanted sexual advances | 2 | / | / |
Since the measurement of such sensitive facts is based on subjective information, the results should be interpreted with caution.
Information on the Indicator
Description or definition
Percentage of employees (aged 15 or over) who are harassed or threatened at work in the last 12 months or in the last month in all employees (aged 15 or over) with valid information on harassment and threats at work.
Harassment occurs when employees report having been exposed to the following forms of harassment during the relevant period:
- Bullying, harassment, violence (in the last 12 months before the survey)
- Verbal abuse and threats (in the last month before the interview)
- Unwanted sexual advances (in the last month before the interview)
Source
European Working Conditions Survey (EWCTS 2021)
Information for interpretation
Results are based on the self-assessment of respondents in the European Working Conditions Survey. (EWCTS 2021).
For more information on the European Working Conditions Surveys, (EWCS) and the comparability with results from previous surveys please refer to the website of Eurofound.