Nearly 3 million Netherlands workers belittled, humiliated at work

Thirty-one percent of workers have experienced belittling or humiliating behavior from their manager. That is nearly 3 million workers. Twenty-two percent have had to deal with transgressive behavior and 40 percent with verbal aggression at work.

That emerged from research among a representative group of 2,400 workers, carried out by the researcher Maurice de Hond at the request of the trade union CNV.

“These are shocking figures,” said CNV chairman Piet Fortuin. “A shockingly high number of workers are intimidated or humiliated. This is not limited to TV programs but happens in many workplaces. Completely unacceptable, of course. The workplace must be safe.”

Last week, the Volkskrant published an article in which former employees of the TV program De Wereld Draait Door said they had been victims of extreme outbursts of anger and public humiliation” by presenter Matthijs van Nieuwkerk and chief editors.

The CNV study also showed that one in six respondents goes to work with a stomach ache. The same percentage said the atmosphere in the workplace causes them stress. Eleven percent reported a culture of fear, and 15 percent found their manager unpredictable.

Women are more likely to experience transgressive behavior and intimidation than men. Twenty-six percent of men have to deal with it, compared to 37 percent of women.

More than half of the respondents say that the employer takes action against inappropriate behavior. Sixteen percent’s employers don’t take action, and 33 percent don’t know. “This indicates that almost half don’t have it arranged,” said Fortuin, calling on employers to get working on this theme.