Several years ago I was involved in representing a number of employees who felt they were being bullied and harassed. These cases were particularly complex and this was compounded by disagreement between all the parties involved as to what constituted bullying and harassing behaviour. This was an unnecessary diversion at a time when the issues needed to be resolved swiftly in the interests of all.

As a consequence I started to research the topic of workplace bullying and the associated topic of Dignity at Work so that a common understanding could be achieved. This coincided with the launch of the joint Government and Amicus Trade Union (now Unite) sponsored Dignity at Work Partnership. This project sought to encourage employers, employees and trade unions to work together to foster greater respect and dignity for all through a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment at work.

In my role, as a Senior Staff Representative, I encouraged my employer to sign up to this partnership and was a member of one of the focus groups involved in the design of the national Partnership Project. On an internal level I chaired a working group tasked with drafting a new Dignity at Work policy that aimed to draw on collective learning from prior bullying and harassment incidents and a wide range of best practice policies and research.

This work was regarded as a model of best practice and received recognition in a number of publications and guides. I was requested to deliver presentations and workshops at national and international conferences, sharing platforms with representatives from ACAS, Government and academia. The partnership model adopted led to a nomination for a Third Sector excellence award. I have also been interviewed on local and national radio with regard to workplace bullying.

The overall aim of the project was to change the work culture to one where individuals showed respect and dignity toward one another. The intention was to focus more on promoting positive behaviours in the workplace while ensuring that there were clear and effective procedures for dealing with the negative behaviours associated with bullying, discrimination and harassment. What also became clear was that a model policy was only effective if its principles were embedded in all aspects of organisational practice and underpinned by senior management leading by example.

As part of the above work I designed and delivered a number of training programmes around the theme of Dignity at Work and bullying and harassment. Although initially delivered internally such courses have also been delivered to a number of external organisations and audiences with a consistently high level of satisfaction expressed with regard to content, relevance and presentation style.

I have continued to research this field and to apply this learning to training, policy development and interventions. I have attended training on the subject organised by the Nordic Institute for Advanced Training in Occupational Health, facilitated by a number of the world’s leading academics in this field. I also took a lead role in producing a Guide for officials involved in workplace incidents.

In order to ensure that I keep abreast of the latest developments I am a member of the International Association of Workplace Bullying and Harassment. This Association draws together some of the world’s leading academics and practitioners specializing in this field and seeks to stimulate, generate, integrate and disseminate research and evidence-based practice. As a consequence I have access to a wealth of information and expertise. Within this Association I have been the convener for one of the special interest sub groups.