Workplace bullying - Fahey study only part of solution

BULLYING in the workplace has long been recognised as a major cause of stress among workers.

In terms of illness, lost time and litigation it can be an extremely costly business for both the victims and the firms where it goes on. According to one survey, seven out of every 100 male workers said they had been bullied. Among women, the incidence is even higher.

So, today’s initiative by Labour Affairs Minister Frank Fahey, setting set up an expert advisory group to examine this problem could not be more timely. If anything, it should have happened long before now since the problem was put under the spotlight by the 2001 task force on bullying.