Unachievable deadlines and super stressed management are just two of the contributing factors leading to claims of bullying by nearly two thirds of UK IT workers.
A survey conducted by trade union Unite revealed that 65% of the 860 IT workers interviewed believed that they had been a victim of workplace bullying, with 22% actually taking time off of work as a direct result. Some IT professionals have gone so far as to quit their job altogether, proving problematic for managers having to find more staff in an increasingly hostile recruitment market.
Problems include excessive monitoring and supervision and criticism over trivial issues, with many victims left feeling unable to report such behaviour for fear of exacerbating the situation or being seen as incapable of coping with their workload. Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University, Cary Cooper, explains that there is a trickle-down effect: "Most bullying is not malicious – it is because managers are overloaded and can’t cope."
Professor Edward Truch, chairman of the BCS Management Forum cited high client expectations as a possible explanation: "Clients realise the benefits of a programme and their expectations are raised, but they still want the project delivered within the same budget and timeframe, thereby putting pressure on delivery teams."
In order to redress the balance, IT Director of the Highways Agency, Denise Plumpton, suggests management hone their communication skills, in order to help employees understand the issues they are likely to confront. "Sadly, much training and development that goes into a project manager will be about process and technical matters, rather than team leadership," she said.
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