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Sir Cary Cooper, an international expert on workplace harassment and professor at the Lancaster University Management School, said a workforce where 30% of employees feel they have been harassed is “very high” and should be a red flag for the government about its culture.

He said the reported harassment levels, coupled with the fact that mental health issues (led by depression and anxiety) account for nearly half of all disability claims, “should be a signal to government that they have to do something about it.”

“Those numbers are too high, even for the naysayers who could say people are lazy and say they are harassed or bullied to get off work. But the numbers are too high to ignore … If the government wants an efficient civil service, they will have to get at it.”

Cooper said persistent harassment leads to absenteeism, more sick leave and mental health problems, and with that come physical ailments, such as heart disease.

He said studies show that all workers suffer when exposed to harassment and bullying. Employees who witness the harassment of colleagues are half as likely as the victims to develop mental health problems, he said.

Treasury Board President Tony Clement is bent on cracking down on absenteeism and improve “wellness” and is trying to do it with an aggressive overhaul of the public service sick-leave regime, replacing it with a new short-term disability plan.

Treasury Board officials told the committee during its hearings into workplace harassment earlier this year that the survey results were “disappointing” and worrisome because those levels have persisted for a few years. In the 2002 and 2005 surveys, the percentage of employees who reported they were harassed hovered at 21 compared with the 30% in 2011.