Sadly, bullying and harassment continue to be significant problems in a wide variety of workplaces, despite the immense harm they can do to individuals, to team morale and to the organization as a whole (for example, in terms of recruitment and retention of staff). The value and effectiveness of treating employees and colleagues with respect and dignity are still not appreciated by many organizations that allow bullying and harassment to persist. This course highlights the significance of bullying and harassment in the workplace and provides guidelines on what to do to prevent them and to respond if or when they do arise.

There is much talk these days of a commitment to investing in health and wellbeing in the workplace, but issues around bullying and harassment – which are, of course, major obstacles to health and wellbeing – are often not considered as part of this.

But, even in the best-run organizations, such problems are not entirely absent. This course therefore explores what is needed to tackle bullying and harassment in the workplace. There are no simple or formula solutions – the issues are too complex for that – but there are steps that can be taken to keep such problems out of the workplace as far as possible.