Office bullying 'on the increase'

A report published on Thursday suggests bullying at work is widespread in the South West.

The research by the Chartered Management Institute shows incidents of bullying takes many forms, although most are psychological in nature.

The report calls on UK businesses to act before bullying affects morale and performance in the workplace.

Acas Chief Executive John Taylor said; "It is essential that employees report inappropriate behaviour."

Key findings include one third of directors admitting to being bullied while six in 10 believe bullying has increased over the past three years.

Top reasons for bullying were cited as a lack of management skills, personality clashes and the failure to deal with bullies in the past