Ban Bullying At Work Day
A ban bullying at work day is planned for 7 November 2005. The key objective for Ban Bullying at Work Day and its run up campaign is to raise awareness of the issue across the UK.
The Andrea Adams Trust, who are organizing the event say bullying at work is “an abuse of power or position” and amounts to “offensive discrimination through persistent, vindictive, cruel or humiliating attempts to undermine, criticise, condemn, and to hurt or humiliate an individual or group of employees”. “The campaign is aimed to be about everyone involved in the field of workplace bullying, so we can get the message out that this behaviour will no longer be accepted”.
Bullying can be a major creator of stress in the workplace. The Trust says that workplace bullying can have a serious impact on organisations as well as individuals. Statistics show that each year, as many as 18.9 million working days are lost to bullying and up to a half of all stress-related illnesses are a direct result of bullying.
A lack of recognition and acceptance of this very basic human behaviour is the cause of much corporate dysfunction, resulting in costly damage to both individuals and organisations. It makes business sense to recognise that bullying is an issue that needs to be addressed. Coming to grips with the problem from all sides, is about awareness, recognition and training. Look here for suggestions for in-house activities to create action on National Ban Bullying at Work Day
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) who will be supporting Ban Bullying at Work Day say that victims of workplace bullying take an average of seven extra days off each year, compared to those who are not bullied. The TUC also found that in 75% of cases, a manager was identified as the bully.
For details of the day, a poster and an activity pack click here and for details about the Andrea Adams Trust, click here.
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