WORKPLACE bullying affects morale, can increase staff turnover, and even reduce profits.

Bullying and harassment takes many forms, from bosses constantly questioning an employee’s work or setting unrealistic targets, to unfair criticism and offensive remarks from colleagues.

The result is humiliation and emotional injury for the employee on the receiving end. Their confidence is knocked, and they no longer have sufficient belief in their ability to do the job properly.

Not long ago, a report from the London Chamber of Commerce stated that the problem was costing British industry £2 billion a year, with up to 19 million days lost through workers taking time off suffering the effects of verbal or physical bullying.

However, the law is being strengthened to deal with the issue. Employment tribunal legislation already covers harassment relating to issues of sex, sexual orientation or disability, and from next year ageism is being added to the list.

So companies need to ensure managers are informed about the impact of bullying and harassment, educate them about the types of behaviour that can affect people, and lay down procedures to ensure that concerns will be handled quickly and confidentially.

There are warning signals. A sudden rise in staff turnover or sick leave may point to a bullying problem.

Heading off the issue altogether is preferable and issuing confidential questionnaires asking how people feel about their workplace can be useful in identifying if there are any worrying and underlying behavioural trends.

Bullying is often simply about a clash of personalities, with the stronger individual asserting their influence over a more passive colleague.

Companies should think laterally on how to solve the problem, and seconding one of the parties to a different branch or department, or a job swap, can be a pragmatic solution.

Research shows that overworked managers are the most common workplace bullies. They may need help in controlling their stress levels, because those who become abusive lose credibility.

Employees who are being bullied should never suffer in silence, they should tell their employer.

The law is on their side, and their company has a legal obligation to deal with complaints robustly and fairly, replying to grievances in writing, and setting out plans to investigate and report back with recommendations and remedies.