30% of employees report having direct experience of being bullied in the workplace and 50% of employees report either experiencing or witnessing bullying in the workplace. Only 23% report having no experience of it (i.e. report no direct, indirect experience or report being unaware of bullying). Isn’t that incredible? A mere 23%.

You may recall that we previously wrote about the negative health implications of working in a high toxicity work environment. People working in toxic work environments are between 35% - 55% more likely to be diagnosed with a major disease, such as a stroke, diabetes or cardiac disease.

Here’s a quote from an icon that I deeply respect:

The cost to the economy is no less harrowing. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) stressful work environments cost the economy nearly $1 trillion US dollars and 12 billion workdays due to depression and anxiety.

Yet 60% of employers react negatively when bullying is reported.

Beneath these statistics are a myriad of harrowing stories about the ill-treatment of human beings who just want the opportunity to a good job, make their contribution and be rewarded for their efforts. These lived realities are not necessary to achieve business results and toxicity in the workplace. In fact, toxicity and bullying impedes the realization of desired commercial results in businesses. Workplaces shouldn’t be torture chambers and they shouldn’t be awash with health risks.

We think that the market place doesn’t provide enough solutions for addressing toxicity and bullying in the work place and that there’s not enough support available for people experiencing bullying or navigating toxic work environments. There also isn’t much available in terms of help offerings that are easily and safely accessible.

We would like to take on this issue and we need your help to do so. We want to combine human ingenuity, ubuntu and technology to offer people experiencing bullying the critical support that they need when they need it and shift workplaces from being unsafe spaces to providing fertile ground for releasing our full potential and realising positive commercial and social impact.

The Ask

If you have experienced or witnessed bullying, I would like to invite you to a one-one one discussion with myself to:

• understand what you need, or needed, in the situation;

• how we can best support people directly experiencing or witnessing bullying or harassment in the workplace;

• how we can begin to address bullying and harassment on an organisational culture level;

• what’s needed to re-integrate people into healthy workplace environments in the cases where staying in their current role is not a feasible option.

I’ll also share a little around my experience and some of my thoughts on what I believe it will take to address toxicity and bullying the work place. Additionally, I’ll share some of my thoughts on the options available for people going through this experience.

Book a slot with me between 1 July and 12 July so we can confidentially ideate. Your identity and what you share with us will be treated in line with your stated requirements when it comes to protecting your identity and keeping your confidence.

Feel free to hit reply on this email, if you have any questions.

I am looking forward to connecting.