A workplace bullying charity has shut down after 15 years because of a lack of funding.
The Andrea Adams Trust, which was established in 1997, closed on Friday (31 July) after its funding arrangements became unsustainable.
In May, the charity was forced to scrap a £65,000-per-year national awarness campaign to ban bullying at work after some of the UK's largest companies ignored pleas to provide funding.
Lyn Witheridge, founder and chief executive of the trust said: "It is time for the Andrea Adams Trust to pass on the baton, and I urge other organisations who share our passion in the fight against workplace bullying to continue with our work.
"Recognition of the effects of bullying in the workplace is essential if it is to be legitimately challenged, which can only be achieved through persistent effort to raise awareness of this insidious practice."
Lead partners for the 2008 National Ban Bullying at Work Day, which had run for six years, were Royal Mail and Amnesty International.
Witheridge said Royal Mail had pleaded poverty when approached for funding, and accused other firms of "jumping on the bandwagon" and treating the tackling of workplace bullying as a box-ticking exercise.
Research last year estimated that workplace bullying costs employers almost £14bn a year and leads to 33.5 million working days lost.
http://www.andreaadamstrust.org/
5 comments:
Well, it is sad to see this happen, now, I think it is important that people who have been bullied at work by command and control/control-freak Managers should come forward and be counted.
Incidentally, I saw something about funding for the "third" sector organisations in need of financial help and I will post it here and on my blog when I find it.
So THE break another whistleblower story - an academic registrar Heidi El-Megrisi who has been successful at the employment appeal tribunal...
Heidi must have battled her way through...
She lost her job...because she had integrity... because she blew the whistle.
She was awarded £16,000
What do you think about that?
Shall we all just go hang ourselves?
Would that make a difference?
Aphra Behn
Those are staggering statistics - wpb costs £14 billion a year with 33.5 million working days lost...
...and apparently no-one is able to do anything about it...
The finger points at those silent witnesses who collude...
In my case I am staggered by the failure of any colleagues to support me...
The silence surrounding wpb in my university is deafening...
What do academics get out of colluding with wpb?
Why is it apparently such a seductive practice?
Does the collusion come from fear?
Any answers welcome...
Aphra Behn
Aphra,
Having experienced bullying in my workplace and taking out a grievance against my ex-Manager, who was a manipulative, controlling, liar, I realised afterwards that a number of staff members would say certain things behind her back, but when it came to the crunch would take sides with her and deny seeing or hearing anything. At this stage, it makes it look as though the person taking out a grievance is crying wolf.
What you have to realise is that people are scared of "testifying" if and when they have to. Some may feel that they will be targeted next or generally do not want to get involved, maybe because they are not affected by the bullying.
This is not just something I have experienced, I have seen other University staff members leave their jobs instead of taking up grievances or other actions against bullies at work. Of course, in doing so, other people will suffer at the hands of the bully, seeing as some people will not take the necessary actions needed to make such people accountable.
I hope that the information on this blog will help people who find themselves targets of workplace bullying.
It has been and continues to be a lifeline for me.
In solidarity
Aphra Behn
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