Table 2.
Self-reported description of specific bullying behaviours
| Behaviour | No of studies/ total studies* |
Total cohort No affected/total participants who completed surveys on behaviours (%)* |
Men No affected/total men who completed surveys on behaviours (%)† |
Women No affected/total women who completed surveys on behaviours (%)† |
| Threats to professional status | ||||
| Persistent unjustified criticism | 12/28 | 4495/16 700 (26.9) | 535/1690 (31.7) | 552/1402 (39.4) |
| Excessive monitoring of work | 6/28 | 1752/6079 (28.8) | 442/1525 (27.7) | 441/1298 (34.0) |
| Intimidatory use of discipline | 15/28 | 1531/19 471 (7.9) | 366/2381 (15.4) | 363/2209 (16.4) |
| Spread of gossip/rumours | 7/28 | 2977/10 060 (29.6) | 88/596 (14.8) | 94/453 (20.8) |
| False allegations | 6/28 | 613/3796 (16.1) | 59/596 (9.9) | 54/453 (11.9) |
| Refusal of leave, training or promotion | 9/28 | 1604/8551 (18.8) | 296/2594 (11.4) | 458/2340 (19.6) |
| Isolation | ||||
| Social/professional exclusion | 17/28 | 6160/21 099 (29.1) | 420/2027 (20.7) | 1064/2814 (37.8) |
| Overwork | ||||
| Undue pressure to produce work | 7/28 | 2509/6562 (38.2) | 233/1525 (15.3) | 355/1570 (22.6) |
| Setting impossible deadlines | 6/28 | 1571/6079 (25.8) | 164/1525 (10.8) | 189/1298 (14.6) |
| Destabilisation | ||||
| Shifting goalposts | 1/28 | 54/417 (12.9) | Not reported | Not reported |
| Removal of areas of responsibility without consultation | 8/28 | 1397/6193 (22.6) | 160/1525 (10.5) | 171/1298 (13.2) |
| Withholding information that affects performance | 9/28 | 3836/12 503 (30.7) | 219/1553 (14.1) | 267/1328 (20.1) |
| Ordered to work below one’s competence level | 10/28 | 2934/8119 (36.1) | 81/625 (13.0) | 99/483 (20.5) |
*Total number of studies that described types of bullying behaviours, including studies that did not stratify results by sex. As a result, the denominator for the number of participants in total is not the sum of the denominators for men and women. The denominator was calculated from the total number of individuals who completed surveys on specific bullying behaviours, while the numerator was calculated from the number of individuals who indicated they experienced the specified bullying behaviour. Not all survey studies offered respondents the same options to respond to, and as a result the denominators for each bullying behaviour differ.
†Of the studies that separated data by gender or solely included the results of one gender and included the specified bullying behaviour.