What can we do to combat bullying ?

Introduce a Anti-Bullying Policy making it clear that it will not be tolerated. Educate managers on what is and is not bullying. Consider management training in communication skills and coaching.

Listen to both sides of the story – often the truth is somewhere in the middle and is due to misunderstanding and miscommunication. Consider bringing a mediator in to resolve difficulties between team members. Try to avoid bringing disciplinary proceedings in at this stage – it usually makes matters worse, with both parties suffering more stress. Offer stress counselling to victims of bullying which incorporates confidence building and assertiveness skills into the sessions.

Bullying is more common than you might think. A recent Samaritans survey found that 80% of respondents had some experience of being the victim of bullying with a third claiming that the resulting stress was so severe that it caused them to contemplate suicide.

Stress was most rampant in the youngest age bracket of 18-24 year olds and over a third felt unable to tell their managers of the problem and over half were unwilling to open up to their fellow workmates. Over fifty percent were the victim of bullying from their manager and nearly half the bullying emanated from clients. The occupation of respondents had a significant role to play. In excess of forty per cent of IT professionals, retailers, caterers and engineers did not feel they were given the necessary support. This contrasts with more than fifty per cent of health, education and banking workers who did feel they were afforded enough support.

Joe Ferns of The Samaritans said, “Job-related stress has a serious and unrecognised impact on the health of the nation and the economy, affecting concentration and efficiency. Thirteen million working days were lost to stress, depression and anxiety in 2005 at a staggering cost of 3.7 billion to UK plc”.