“When I was working at a senior role, I found myself being bullied. It took me around 18 months to report it and even though I did it with good faith, the process however damaged my overall well being. Conduct Change was a project that I had started following my bullying experience at a workplace. That was the significant turning point in my career.” says Nicki Eyre, Founder and Director of Conduct Change.
Workplace bullying is a critical issue that calls for not only a change in legislation but also in the behaviors of employers and employees, respectively. Clear and concise ethical communication practices can help bridge the gap between differences in a team of employees before they escalate into a crisis. Prior to reporting an incident, having a program committed to addressing and resolving such issues in the workplace could prevent mental health problems for both parties.
The Equality Act of 2010 is a legal initiative that safeguards people from discrimination at the workplace in the UK, replacing the previous anti-discrimination laws and reinforcing protection in certain situations. However, this particular law appears to have limited the protection of certain characteristics including: age, disability, gender, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and sexual orientation.
The Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 passed by the Scottish parliament is a significant example of comparison as it aims to reduce discrimination and hate crimes by being more expansive and detailed in its stipulations regarding religion, which is limited under the Equality Act of 2010.
“This Act is however not enforced yet, however it suggests a better model for reforming the Equality Act of 2010 and accommodate the demands in a cosmopolitan country like the UK.” adds Sasha Dias, a law student from Glasgow University.
Power dynamics prevalent in the workplace today makes it challenging for minorities and oppressed members of society to seek help with existing legislation like the Equality Act. This calls for the attention of lawmakers and advocates to address such loopholes and advocate for reform.
“They started on me about six months before I left, and it was little things at first and then it progressed. I tried to stand up for myself but by the end, my mental health was in pieces. And I was actually having thoughts of taking my own life. I had already built a good client base working for this advertising design agency as an account director and they all stuck by me during this time. It was very telling as several large international companies also withdrew their work from the company I worked for in protest because they had faith in me.” says Jo Cooksey, a survivor of workplace bullying in the UK.
Cooksey had spent most of her career life in the advertising industry, working for ad agencies like J. Walter Thompson. Her last was for an advertising design company based in Manchester which she left in February 2020 due to its toxic workplace environment.
“A few people were shown the door under some strange circumstances, but then the company suddenly developed a revolving door situation. It was horrendous. Many staff were either bullied out or left due to the toxic work environment,” adds Cooksey.
Conduct Change was started by Eyre in 2019 aimed at improving behaviors in businesses through the prevention of workplace bullying by raising awareness and highlighting the gaps in legislation regarding workplace bullying. Such laws have been enacted in different countries around the world but not in the UK. Eyre has also worked with employees across various sectors, including the self-employed, who may not necessarily enjoy the same protections as those who work for larger companies.
The #Stop Hurt At Work campaign is a project launched by Conduct Change targeted at addressing and advocating towards amending the existing legislation in the UK to end workplace bullying.
“In 2023, I worked with lawyers and barristers across the UK and we created a proposal and then took it to the MP Rachell Maskell. The proposal was used as a basis for the Bullying and Respect Work Bill and was introduced at the House of Commons in 2023,” says Eyre.
Eyre is also a member of the International Association on Workplace Bullying & Harassment and was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in recognition of her work in this domain.
“We all have power: how we use it matters. We can use it to encourage and elevate others, or we can use it to denigrate and destroy. My bill will break the cycle of bullying at work. It will call to account those who abuse their power, while protecting others and, for the first time, providing a legal definition of bullying at work,” stated MP Rachell Maskell during parliamentary debate of the “Bullying and respect at work Bill” in July 2023.
With the recent election in the UK, the bill needs to be reintroduced in the House of Commons. It’s important to take this proposal forward as the ethic of respect at work sets a framework in which businesses should operate so people are valued for their potential and contributions in the workplace. The right to be treated fairly at work is not only the responsibility of employers but also government.
Featured image: Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash
Edited by James Sutton
