Britain’s workforce wound up by workplace
13 November 2007
More than 27 million Britons get stressed out by co-worker’s infuriating and unfair behaviour, a new report reveals.
The ‘Workplace Woes’ report by leading building society, Britannia, shows that more than nine in ten (94%) of the nation’s workforce are affected by the unfair acts committed by their colleagues on a regular basis – highlighting that ‘WASBO (Work Anti-Social Behavioural Order) Culture’ is prevalent across Britain.
The report reveals that the top five ‘social crimes’ committed in places of work across the country are:
Benefit fraud – Over three fifths (62%) of us say others reaping the benefits of our hard work really gets us angry
Mugging – Using other people’s possessions, especially coffee mugs, aggravates 53% of the country’s workers
GBH (Great Bed Hoax) – A quarter (24%) of Britons think ‘pulling a sickie’ to sleep off hangovers is the most despicable act
Disturbing the peace – Having to listen to colleagues talking loudly on mobile phones when taking personal calls really gets on the nerves of almost one in ten (8%)
Criminal damage – Leaving communal areas in a mess is a real problem for a tenth of employed Britons (7%)
Over a quarter (27%) of the nation believes that the workplace is the most unfair area of life and where actions of fellow work colleagues are seriously affecting our mental well being. We even admit to treating strangers more fairly than the people we work with.
In fact, anti-social behaviour at work is not just affecting the nation’s health and well-being, but is costing the country millions of pounds. The report also reveals that we spend on average five minutes a day moaning about the actions of co-workers – at a cost of over £28 million a day to the country’s economy.
Tim Franklin, Managing Director of Member Business at Britannia, said: “It’s concerning to see that so many of us are affected by the unfair behaviour of people at work. Considering we spend a large percentage of our time at work it’s worryingly that nearly all of us feel stressed and annoyed by the people we work with. Anti-social behaviour is not only affecting the health of the nation but our economy too. We’d like to encourage the nation’s workforce to help stamp out anti-social behaviour at work for the benefit of all.”
Across the country the report reveals that people in East Anglia spend the most amount of time moaning about their fellow colleagues’ actions (72%), while employees in the North East spend the least amount of time (61%).
Workers in London (70%) and Wales (70%) are the most likely to take the credit for someone else’s work compared to the rest of the country. While, ‘pulling sickies’ is most rife in the North East, with over a third (35%) admitting to doing so.
To download a ‘WASBO’ certificate visit: fairness.britannia.co.uk.
