Bullying – would you recognise it?

We all lead busy lives so it is easy to overlook any warning signs of harassment within the four walls of our workplace and beyond – whether we are a bully, the victim or a bystander

As a professional, what can we expect from each other? As a team of professionals working together, the GDC states: ‘You must not bully, harass, or unfairly discriminate’ and ‘treat your colleagues with fairness and respect’.

We know what the rules say and understand them fully but the fact remains that there are many occasions when we break them. Whether it's a bad day in practice, an on-going battle with a tricky colleague or due to sheer weight of our workload, we can flip, switch – call it what you will – we are all guilty of behaving badly. Our close working environment can bring out the dark side in us all. And, without realising, we are suddenly involved in a serious battle that may or may not be a case of bullying.

Of course, dentistry isn't the only profession where relationships can become strained and stressful encounters construed as harassment or discrimination, but the implications are far reaching – especially when the health of the patient should always remain at the forefront of all that we do, however our day may be panning out.

Identifying bullying in the workplace is not easy and, for those who do it via the ‘rule by fear’ method, they are able to thrive in a culture of cover-up and secrecy. Us Brits are notoriously bad at speaking up and confrontation. Conversely, we are also excellent at speaking behind backs and muddying waters when, the truth is, a little bit of clarity and honest discussion is often the way forward and to the benefit of all.

We are all guilty of bad behaviour in the workplace (and beyond) at times but, as professionals, shouldn't we be celebrating our successes and our differences? Variety is the spice of life – and the best advice I ever heard is that none of us are WEIRD, we're just WIRED differently.

Dental nursing is a tough enough profession to pursue as it is. Quarrels and disagreements are an inevitable part of the working environment but on-going victimisation of those we can bully is never acceptable. It is a cruel behaviour and can involve anything from intimidation to offensive behaviour, shouting and ostracising to nit-picking, fault-finding, gossiping and rumour spreading. Hands up who has never being involved in any of the above?

So, now we've all exorcised those ghosts of professional past, let's face the upcoming year with a breath of fresh air and bury those bullying demons we all have hidden inside.