Ben shines light on bullying

This Anti-Bullying Week, Ben is shining a spotlight on bullying in the workplace and has launched new web resources to help people cope with this difficult issue.

Nearly a third of people in the UK have been bullied at work, so this National Anti-Bullying Week from 12-16 November, Ben is focusing on raising awareness about bullying in the workplace as well as giving people the tools to tackle it.

Findings from Ben’s first industry survey in 2017 indicated that bullying was rated the third most important issue of all health and wellbeing topics. Bullying was also rated the most important issue related to ‘social health and wellbeing’, with 42% of individuals ranking it at the top – ‘very important’ – followed by bereavement and confidence.

Considering these results, Ben has launched new resources on its website to help people cope with this difficult issue. On Ben’s new dedicated web page, people can find out more about what bullying is and how to deal with it, as well as information about managing relationships in the workplace.

TUC research states that, looking at the effects of workplace bullying, nearly half of people say that it has an adverse impact on their performance at work, and the same proportion believe it has a negative effect on their mental health. More than a quarter (28%) say it has a detrimental effect on them physically, and around one in five (22%) have to take time off work as a result of being bullied.

Rachel Clift, health and wellbeing director at Ben, said, ‘Bullying isn’t just something that happens to children, it can be something we, as grown adults, have to deal with in life both inside and outside of the workplace. We believe that no-one should have to deal with bullying or associated feelings of being vulnerable, embarrassed, isolated or struggling with mental health issues as a consequence.’