Industry leaders get behind Anti-Bullying Week Conference

Over 40+ speakers from across the globe are coming together to unite against workplace bullying at a virtual ‘United Against Workplace Bullying Conference’ throughout Anti-Bullying week, organised by Yorkshire-based Nicki Eyre of Conduct Change.

Nicki, who will be hosting the conference, will be joined by speakers from all walks of life, including business leaders from Thames Water, MBEs, film, TV and entrepreneurs. All lending their voice, experience and expertise to change the face of bullying, striving to ensure that everyone feels heard, valued and respected in the workplace.

Joining the speakers will be Jenny McCullough and Emily Commander, both of whom previously worked at the House of Commons and are now members of the Conduct Change Advisory Board. In 2018 they were part of BBC Newsnight’s investigation into bullying and harassment at Westminster, and since then they have continued to work with their former colleagues in a campaign for change to the complaints system and the culture of the House of Commons. They are now supporting the Conduct Change campaign alongside Nicki.

In a recent guest post for the Conduct Change blog, Jenny says:

“Bullying takes place on a global basis with similar features and outcomes, according to an overview of research into workplace bullying that identifies ‘remarkably consistent’ international findings. It is a relatively new field of research, not subject to peer-reviewed published study until 1989, and the review authors describe a rapid increase in knowledge about workplace bullying that has transformed it from ‘taboo subject in organisational life and a non-existent topic in the scientific literature’ to ‘well-established and highly recognised social stressor in both research and in legislation’.

That this progression has not been reflected in the experience of people who are subjected to bullying behaviour at work, is documented in the media reporting from around the world that is still often the only route to individual recourse and organisational reform – and is evidence that there is much more to be done to make workplace bullying impossible to ignore.”

Raising awareness of these issues is a mission that Nicki Eyre is dedicated to taking forward. As well as working with organisations to prevent and resolve bullying through both organisational and individual development, Conduct Change also commits to provide funding for programmes to support individuals to move on after having to leave their jobs due to bullying. It doesn’t stop there though. 

Nicki says: “Having experienced the damaging effects of bullying in the workplace myself, I was determined to give people a voice, so it doesn’t happen to other people. It’s been a long journey, but I am absolutely delighted to have key influencers onboard who can raise awareness and also champion the cause that bullying has no place in a modern workforce.”

“Our virtual conference is going to be ground-breaking in the fact that it is the first of its kind on such a big scale. We’ve introduced ‘Stories of Courage’ from people who have overcome the effects of bullying and we’ll be sharing these at the conference to encourage others to stand up and be counted.”

Nicki has pulled together an impressive Advisory Board, who have issued a joint Statement of Intent for further action:

Statement of Intent

 “Our mission is to end workplace bullying through the development of meaningful prevention activities for organisations and the implementation of effective routes to redress for individuals.

We aim to achieve this by raising awareness and seeking formal recognition of workplace bullying as a problem that injures individuals and damages organisations. We will work with employers and employees, offering preventative training programmes and packages of advice and support.

The law does not provide sufficient protection or redress for people whose employers let bullying go unchecked, making the process of seeking legal remedy in these cases unduly complex and arduous. We will work with lawyers and legislators to identify and close the gaps in legislation.

Workplace bullying is a problem that calls for collective action, beginning with courageous and open conversations about the impact of bullying on both individuals and organisations. We will work with and support organisations with this common purpose at heart, and we call on business leaders to engage with us to create safer working environments for everyone.”

Nicki’s bullying story:

This is me, Nicki Eyre, and I'm the Founder of Conduct Change. I experienced workplace bullying myself, and the devastating impact that it had on my health, my confidence, and my career. What I wasn't prepared for was how long that impact was going to last, and how long it would take to recover. 

That was several years ago, and I truly believe that the way in which bullying is currently dealt with in the workplace is detrimental to everyone involved, employees and employers - not to mention the ripple effect it has outside of work. I retrained as a coach, and established my business offering training and leadership coaching to help prevent workplace bullying, and coaching intervention when it does occur, with the aim of creating behavioural change rather than increasing conflict by using existing grievance and disciplinary procedures. Even then, I felt like I wasn't doing enough, and through my work, I was meeting more and more people who had found themselves feeling bullied at work. People who had lost their jobs and were unable to face interviews, never mind risking working for someone else again. People who were selling their belongings to keep their heads above water. People selling their homes because they'd lost their income. People who had lost their self-belief, confidence, self-esteem, lost themselves. People who were still struggling with their mental health. People driven to the brink of suicide. People coping with the loss of family and friends who had taken their own lives. How can the system be working if this is the outcome?

That's when I started exploring other options, and speaking to people from around the world about their approaches, and their legislation (did you know that bullying doesn't have a legal definition in the UK, but harassment does?). At the same time, more and more stories of bullying were hitting the headlines. It was time for a change, time to start campaigning for a different way of dealing with workplace bullying. We need greater clarity over what constitutes bullying, and an independent route for both employers and employees to get support. That was the starting point for Conduct Change.

www.conductchange.co.uk

[email protected]

07921 264920

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