ABSTRACT
Bullying at work is unacceptable. It is extremely distressing, disruptive and damaging for the recipient and totally undesirable for the smooth functioning of the organisation. Unfortunately, however, it occurs more frequently than most of us would imagine. A survey carried out by UNISON in 1996 identified that two-thirds of individuals replying to the survey had either suffered or witnessed bullying at work.1 Furthermore, a series of BBC programmes shown in 1998 indicated that over half of the workforce in England had experienced bullying in their workplace. These staggering statistics lead to a loss of revenue to the economy estimated at over two million pounds per year.2
