Almost one-third of teachers in a recent survey said they had been bullied at work, with the most common perpetrator a male superior.
A quarter of all complainants suffered physical illness as a result, one in six developed mental illness or resorted to prescribed medication, and 20 per cent absented themselves from work because of bullying, the survey by the Teachers Union of Ireland found. The findings were presented at a TUI conference in Dublin yesterday organised by its Professional Development Programme. The TUI president, Mr Joe Carolan, said the survey's alarming results illustrated the need for "specific legislation to outlaw bullying".
Asked what the nature of bullying was, 74.8 per cent of respondents cited "lack of affirmation or acknowledgement of work done", while 57 per cent said their work "was made difficult due to the deliberate withholding of information". The next most common form of bullying was being subjected to "loud-voiced criticisms and obscenities".
The survey of 1,000 randomly selected TUI members showed that bullying among teachers is a serious problem, according to Dr Mona O'Moore, a psychologist at Trinity College Dublin. Mr Jack Nash of SIPTU, who also spoke at the conference, said bullying led to victims suffering from a loss of self-confidence and feelings of isolation.
One teacher complained of getting physically ill waiting for the bus in the morning, Mr Nash said.
Ms Jacinta Kitt, who has undertaken academic research in the area, said isolating people was one of the most prevalent forms of bullying. Victims needed to itemise incidents as they happened, so they could later show a pattern of behaviour.
"It's not a new problem," Dr O'Moore said. "It's been going on for generations, but in the past there was huge shame. We are trying to raise awareness of the seriousness of the problem."
She said the Anti-Bullying Centre helped organisations with independent investigations into bullying in their workplace, as well as working with schools. The centre trains teachers to go into schools and give presentations on staff days, helps schools to devise policies on bullying, and provides counselling for victims.
Additionally, the centre has a pilot programme aimed against students bullying one another. "Because of our lack of funding from the Department of Education, we focus on empowering people to help themselves," she said.