Nicholas Craig column

Dec 8 2006 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

The third annual Anti-Bullying Week took place in the UK at the end of November. Bullying is a growing problem, with schoolchildren's lives damaged as a result of repeated physical or mental attacks.

Bullying is not, however, solely the province of the playground.

Did you know that there have been five national Ban Bullying at Work Days? According to the Health and Safety Executive it costs employers 80 million working days and up to £2bn in lost revenue every year.

Yet despite the strongly backed campaigns to wipe out bullying at school, workplace bullies are much more able to get away with their behaviour.

The campaigns for adults do not have the almost unanimous approval and emotional pull of anti-bullying at schools.

Why do grown people put up with colleagues who go out of their way to undermine others, wearing them down and making their lives a misery?

Whatever the reason, it has to be addressed by other staff and managers in the same concerted way in which we all back the need to stop bullying in schools. I'm all for a quick bit of self-assessment, too. If someone is causing unreasonable stress, we need to say that this is simply not on.

There may be ways to tackle it by talking to other colleagues, rather than doing what too many staff do and change jobs.

With a problem that causes such life-stunting misery we should all tackle it with eyes wide open. It's all too easy to dismiss troubles being faced by others by looking away.

Just Fight On is an organisation specifically for workplace bullying victims to get support and it runs a Centre Against Workplace Bullying.

We can all occasionally hate the thought of work because of repetitive duties or Monday morning misery. The possibility of dreading the next day at work because of bullies, however, is unacceptable.

It's up to each of us to help ensure that time spent at work is as positive and motivating as possible for those around us.

There's no need to become potted Pollyannas, but if we make positive decisions to communicate face to face with colleagues we can work wonders in building relationships and thwarting bullies.

There's the making of a New Year's resolution in there somewhere.

It's that time of year again.

Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton law firm