Forestry Commission Trade Unions - www.fctu.org.uk
Harassment and Bullying
Further Information
If you are affected by harassment or bullying or would simply like to know more about how it might be affecting colleagues around you, then the FCTU have produced a members' leaflet: View Online | Print PDF
Harassment Advisors
As part of our H&B support, we have a network of reps who have been specially trained to support members. Details of the advisors are in the members' leaflet or you can download and look at their Pen-Pictures.
Useful Links
Andrea Adams Trust - the world's only non-political, non-profit making charity operating as the focus for the diverse and complex problems caused by bullying behaviour in the workplace.
Why we care
In the last FC Staff Survey around 500 members of staff said that they had suffered from harassment or bullying in the last two years, but only 200 reported it and only 35 were satisfied with the outcome.
To mark the UK’s 2nd Ban Bullying at Work Day in 2005 the joint unions launched a new network of Union Harassment Advisors, who are specially trained to support members affected by bullying or harassment at work.
Many of us in the Commission work in small offices or teams and when bullying or harassment occurs one of the most common reactions is to feel helpless and very isolated. One of our goals therefore is to try and ensure that members don’t suffer in silence. Even if you’re not sure if any behaviour is harassment or bullying, or if you don’t want to take any direct action at this time, just speaking to someone might help, and an advisor might be able to provide you a few pointers on some of the things which you ought to do in case you want to take action in the future.
What is harassment and Bullying
“After a while the thought of going to work in the morning made me feel physically sick. Although I knew the comments were unfair, the fact that they were said with such confidence meant that I began to doubt myself. Even simple tasks which I knew I was good at I’d end up avoiding as I knew they would be used as an opportunity to criticise me.”
One of the simplest definitions of harassment and bullying is any unwarranted conduct that violates a person’s dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Examples of this could be:
- Being shouted at by a manager or colleague,
- Being ignored or shunned by colleagues,
- Spreading malicious rumours,
- Unwanted sexual advances.
It could comprise of a single incident or a whole series of events. Even if each single incident might seem trivial, the fact that it is part of a series makes it important. Even if you don’t necessarily consider that someone’s behaviour is harassment or bullying, if you believe that it is inappropriate then it is still worth getting advice. Resolving an issue early on might help avoid the situation getting worse.
Bullying and harassment is an insidious form of violence which can leave individuals feeling intimidated and degraded. The FCTU are committed to helping and supporting members, so if you believe that you are affected by harassment and bullying, then please contact us, and don’t suffer in silence.
Ban Bullying at Work Day - 7th November 2008
New research indicates that 1 in 2 people have been bullied at some point in their working lives; so the chances are that even if you have been lucky enough to escape such treatment yourself, the person next to you may have suffered from it at some point.
If they have, one issue they may have had to deal with is the apathy of others. With colleagues and friends often keeping their heads down to save themselves, targets of bullying become isolated very quickly. Targets of bullying are either fearful that making a complaint will worsen the situation, or that they simply won’t be believed.
Witnesses of bullying can be too afraid of being targeted themselves to speak up. Too many of us still believe that bullying is normal working practice. We need to be aware of the complex issues that surround bullying and to understand how they may be resolved. We all need to understand that workplace bullying is not an issue to be swept under the carpet, but one to be tackled head on. That is why the FCTU are supporting Ban Bullying at Work Day on 7th November and are encouraging individuals to have the strength to Speak Out!