The realities of bullying in the workplace and how to prevent it
The realities of bullying in the workplace are stark and ones that all employers should be aware of, especially in a world where Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are becoming ever more important and the topic of mental health and wellbeing is front of many people’s minds.
Our research shows that the consequences of bullying in the workplace need to be a priority for employers to tackle head on and prevent from happening or worsening:
- Two in five employees have experienced problematic behaviour such as bullying in the workplace
- 42% have previously left a job due to a bad workplace culture
- 41% say bad workplace culture has impacted their productivity
- 64% say experiencing problematic behaviour at work negatively impacted their mental health
- Almost three quarters have said that when the incident happened, they felt they had nobody to turn to and unsupported by their colleagues
And the problems don’t just affect your people, but your business and profits too:
- Presenteeism costs UK employers between £26-29 billion annually in lost productivity (Deloitte and Mind)
- 62% of consumers say they wouldn’t buy a product or service from a company with a reputation for treating employees poorly
- 71% of investors wouldn’t invest in a company with a problematic workplace culture or one that has a poor reputation
- The average payout given to employees who faced problematic behaviour at work is £381,350
- It can cost on average £30,000 to hire a new employee
So what are the solutions? In this webinar that took place during Anti-Bullying Week, we discussed the methods that helped our experts implement change and drive conversations towards fostering a more diverse, inclusive and positive work environment where people feel they belong, are supported and protected from bullying, discrimination and harassment.
These include awareness training on micro-aggressions, utilising staff networks so marginalised groups have safe spaces to talk or can push for change, training managers first and foremost to give them accountability over their teams actions and behaviours, using data to analyse where there are problems and how to tackle different issues head on, and providing an anonymous reporting route so they do not have to fear repercussions.
You can watch the webinar in full below:
Our panellists were:
Gemma McCall, CEO and Co-Founder of Culture Shift
Gemma is a respected voice on issues around harassment in places of work and study, often being called on by high profile organisations such as the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to contribute to their reports. She frequently collaborates with The 1752 Group, a UK-based research, consultancy and campaign organisation dedicated to ending staff sexual misconduct in higher education, and, sits on a number of boards and forums including the UKRI Bulling and Harassment Forum. After working with the University of Manchester in 2018 to develop the first ever Report+Support™ system, she found her calling in Culture Shift and began leading her own team of change-makers, on a mission to shift campus culture before her two young children reach university age.
Roli Barker, Director at Big Life Group
Roli is leading on the development of their anti-racism strategy and prior to joining Big Life Group, she was a project manager for social impact charities and arts organisations such as the Samaritans, Shelter, London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Hull 2017 City of Culture. She is also Chair of the Housing North Board at Jigsaw Homes and recently joined the board of trustees at The Lowry.
Alistair Swindelhurst, Founder of EZHR
EZHR is a HR subscription solution for businesses of all sizes that blends traditional means and tech to work with businesses to enable access to simple and useful HR support. Before EZHR, Alistair spent 15 years working in-house for various Blue Chip FMCG and manufacturing businesses along with several global BPO organisations. His work was across various areas of specialism including employee relations, organisational change, talent development, TUPE, and business sale.
Tamsin McCarthy, Global D&I Manager at DWF
Tamsin is passionate about diversity & inclusion and the role allies can play in creating a more inclusive society. With a varied background in procurement, change management and communications, she appreciates the importance of embedding D&I into everything we do.
What we're reading
Latest insights from the front lines of workplace culture.
Why Whistleblowing Protections Are Not Enough
The launch of the CIISA standards marked a significant moment for the creative industries, signalling growing recognition of the need for stronger protections around bullying, harassment and misconduct across film, television and wider media environments. But in a recent article for Broadcast Now, we highlight that whistleblowing protections alone will not solve the deeper cultural issues that have allowed harmful behaviour to persist for years.
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Speaking Up in the Creative Industries – Embedding Standards in Practice
With the CIISA Standards having been in place for a year and with the introduction of the Employment Rights Act, expectations around creating a healthy and effective speak up culture are shifting. Organisations being asked to move beyond policy and demonstrate how they are creating real, effective speak-up cultures.
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From the Conference Floor: Real-World Lessons for HR Leaders
Workplace misconduct is evolving, and many HR processes are struggling to keep up. At this year’s Culture Shift Annual Conference, one thing was clear: what worked even a year ago isn’t enough anymore. In this webinar join Gemma McCall (CEO) and Charlotte Taylor (Training Manager and ED&I Specialist) as they bring the most important conversations from the conference floor into a practical session for HR, People and Compliance leaders. You’ll hear what industry experts and legal professionals are seeing right now, and what it means for how you design, communicate and manage your approach to misconduct.
Feeling inspired?
Take the first step toward preventative misconduct management with a demo of our Report + Support™ platform. We can show you how to breakdown reporting barriers with anonymous 2-way messaging, and how to act before things escalate with name-matching and pattern-spotting across our analytics dashboard.
