Stop Bullying
Don’t bully, don’t be a bully. Anti-Bullying week is here. “Stop bullying” is a chant my not so little one has been with this week. “Don’t bully, don’t be a bully” was another one from previous years. The theme is year is “Make A Noise About Bullying.” On Friday, November 24, the pupils are to wear odd socks in to school.
An important aspect of the week is to encourage people to speak up against bullying. Seeking help when needed and proactively a safer environment in their school and environment is also encouraged. My child was involved in a case of a difficult class bully a couple of years back. Our relationship was at a stage where I regularly got to know what happened at school daily. I encouraged dialogue with the teacher which got the issue resolved. Often those bullied don’t seek help when needed.
Thanksgiving Thursday falls within Anti-bullying week, giving those freed from bullying a focus for celebration.
Though most of the focus of the week appears to be around young children, adults are affected too. Workplace bullying can be a serious issue.
Benchmarking
In my early career, there were benchmark for organisations regarding how employees were treated. One of the first organisations to get the accolade of Investors In People [IIP] was my employer. The Investors In People logo was proudly embroidered in our letterhead. Public Sector employers were reputed to be better at valuing staff,as service rather than profit, was the driving force for senior management.
Bullying beyond the personal
It’s not only individuals that bully others. Organisations do as well; often against competitors. Here , it’s more of a power relationship. It could be between commercial organisations where one or more groups have a dominant position. Regulatory bodies often provide the balance required in these situations because they introduce measures that help competition and penalise defaulters. Stop bullying is definitely a strong mantra.
We shall look into this more at some other time…
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