Sticks and Stones

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Bullying in the work place is often masqueraded as banter or disguised in the all too familiar quote of 'you're being sensitive'. Many experience bullying in the workplace and often not know what to do and how to deal with it. As a black women the stereotypes that continues to be placed on us often serves as a deterrent in preventing us from speaking up when faced with bullying in the workplace. ITV's recent 3 part episode 'Sticks and Stones' follows a black man, Sales Associate Thomas Benson who is bullied at work. As the bullying intensifies we watch Thomas deteriorate and we see how the bullying effects his mental health, his home life and of course his work life.

Watching 'Sticks and Stones' was uncomfortable. In the early stages of my career I was bullied by colleagues, management and in different organisations. As i became more senior the bullying was overt but was still effective in crushing my confidence and self-esteem. As I began to understand the social aspects of work and grow as a person I very quickly understood the need to set boundaries with my colleagues and how to then deal with and speak up when I was bullied or treated unfairly. Often the bullying was motivated by the colour of my skin. Irrespective of how black women assert themselves, in comparison to our white counterparts we will be considered as aggressive or even the aggressor, however I refuse to accept this as a deterrent from speaking up. There are different ways of asserting yourself and understanding how to use the office politics, and workplace rules/regulations, and grievance procedure has made asserting myself at work easier. We are use to being the minority in the workplace and that and sometimes is uncomfortable in itself so if asserting ones self means we will have to be uncomfortable while doing so, then its' a feeling we are already use too. In this Episode I discuss workplace bullying advise on how to deal with bullying at work and also I share a recent example of an ex-colleague who is being bullied at work.

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Music (Intro and Outro) Written and created by Nomadic Star

• Stationary Company - Sistah Scribble
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