Bullying and Harassment

High profile cases of alleged workplace bullying and harassment are increasingly being reported in the media in occupations as diverse as the military, the police, the caring professions, professional sport and the finance sector. The consequences of bullying and harassment for both the individuals and organisations involved can be immense. For the individual ‘victim’, bullying and harassment can lead to physical illness, depression, anxiety and other forms of psychological ill-health, some even suggest suicide. But the organisation suffers too, not only through the absence and turnover that go hand in hand with these various health complaints, but through diminished work motivation, organisational inefficiency, and the development of a negative organisational culture or climate that results. This, of course, is to say nothing about damaging and costly compensation claims!

‘Doing something’ about bullying and harassment is therefore not an option but a necessity. The trouble is, of course, that what might be acceptable in one work relationship, or workgroup, is unacceptable in another.  The ‘black humour’ for which the emergency services are famous, for example, might appear insensitive and uncalled for elsewhere. But amongst, say, police officers and paramedics it plays a crucial part in helping them cope with the stress and difficult circumstances they sometimes face. It is for this very reason that Zeal’s approach to managing bullying and harassment follows a problem solving framework. Our services here in other words include:

• Designing and running bespoke surveys – and other information gathering activities – to help identify the scale, character and consequences of any bullying and harassment that might exist in an organisation
• Using that information to design appropriate training interventions, e.g. social and interpersonal skills training, leadership training, tools for team building and developing workgroup sensitivity and awareness
• The rigorous evaluation of either our own or existing interventions introduced  to manage bullying and harassment