■ At the start of this year, it is time to have an honest conversation about workplace bullying – one that goes beyond policies, posters, and performative concern, writes Dr Jessica Sneha Gray, applied clinical sociologist, investigations.

Workplace bullying is not rare. It is not subtle. And it does not survive because people do not recognise it. It survives because too many organisations choose silence over leadership.

I often occupy an awkward position. As an investigator and conflict resolver, I am frequently cast as the “bad guy” – particularly by those who are still learning how to regulate emotion, accept accountability, or extend respect to others.

That label does not concern me.

What concerns me is how often organisations would rather neutralise the messenger than address the behaviour.

Through my work across multiple sectors, including healthcare, I remain closely connected to the raw realities of working life.

Over the past few years, one trend has become increasingly visible: growing hostility towards “the other”.

The other team. The other profession. The other worldview. The other person.

I have experienced this personally. I have been on the receiving end of open hostility – verbal, public, and unapologetic.

This is not shared as grievance or victimhood. It is shared as evidence. Because while people struggling to love themselves will always exist, what is far more troubling is when leaders watch and say nothing.

I once attended a professional training where a loud individual openly targeted another participant.

The room fell silent. Most people looked away. Afterwards, several approached privately to express support. No one intervened. No one named the behaviour.

This is how bullying thrives – not through consensus, but through fear and inaction. Silence becomes protection. Neutrality becomes endorsement.

At the same time, there is another issue organisations are failing to address.

Increasingly, straightforward management – clear expectations, firm feedback, accountability – is being mislabelled as bullying.

Discomfort is not harm. Direction is not abuse. Leadership is not cruelty.

Both extremes are damaging. Unchecked bullying corrodes trust, safety, and dignity.

Mischaracterising accountability as harm paralyses organisations, weakens standards, and erodes leadership confidence.

Together, they distort organisational culture and undermine morale, performance and profit.

This is not a “nice-to-have” conversation. I work extensively with healthcare and other high-pressure sectors, and the evidence is clear: how people treat colleagues and clients directly affects staff retention, organisational reputation, service quality, and financial sustainability.

One practical solution deserves serious consideration – linking remuneration and advancement not only to output, but to behaviour.

How people treat others under pressure matters. How they handle disagreement matters. How they model respect matters.

This is not about softness. It is about standards.

If organisations are serious about addressing workplace bullying, they must stop hiding behind ambiguity.

Bullying must be named when it occurs. Silence must stop being rewarded.

And accountability must be protected from being reframed as harm.

We do not have a bullying awareness problem.

We have a courage problem.

At the start of this year, it is time to stop pretending we do not see it – and to act accordingly.