A 2015 YouGov Poll(1) for the TUC highlights that 29% of people have been the victims of workplace bullying. That’s nearly 3 in every 10 workers and would equate to 9.1 million of the UK workforce. To put that into perspective, it’s more than the populations of Scotland and Wales combined.
Furthermore, this being the digital age, new research by Totaljobs(2) (Sep 2018) reveals 20% of workers across the UK have been bullied by colleagues via messaging apps, with more than 1 in 3 suffering in silence.
Bullying causes stress and anxiety and can have long-term effects on victims’ physical and mental health. It also significantly contributes to poor workplace morale and low employee retention.
In both large and small organisations, counselling can play a vital role in complaints about bullying and harassment, by providing a confidential avenue for an informal approach, and perhaps the opportunity to resolve the complaint without the need for further or formal action.
At New Leaf we believe that no one should feel they have to leave their job because of bullying and provide excellent services in a supportive space where individuals can talk about the effect bullying has had upon their emotional and physical health, exploring appropriate, positive ways of moving forward and recovering.
