Life at the Sharp End

Scapegoating is an equal opportunity form of harmful workplace behaviour, because anyone can find themselves being made the workplace scapegoat. A phenomenon associated with workplace bullying, scapegoating takes place at a systemic level - described by Dr Nathalie Marthinek as akin to an “organisation’s immune response” to challenge, questioning and unwanted cultural change.

Nathalie writes extensively about work...

Tempus Fugit meaning "Time flees". More time than I’d intended has passed since the end of Season One of Life at the Sharp End and that great philosopher, Freddie Mercury, told us that “Time waits for nobody.”

Life at the Sharp End set out to help people who want to be a part of safe, respectful and high-performing workplace cultures.

Whether you’re new to the podcast or a long-time listener, let’s tak...

Research studies have long established that workplace incivility, bullying and harassment is a traumatic experience for people affected by this unacceptable behaviour. It's self-evident that – at the extreme end of this continuum – any form of sexual harm is particularly traumatising.

But to what extent does the way organisations respond to these kind of incidents actually exacerbate the harm caused to people who&r...

A toxic culture is one result of workplace behaviour that includes incivility, bullying, harassment and a host of other unacceptable conduct. What action can leaders take to address this behaviour, other than following formal complaint processes and HR disciplinary investigations?

Dr Laura Crawshaw is a researcher and practitioner who's spent her career looking into this behaviour, which she summarises with one simple word - &ldquo...

The role of bystanders in workplace incivility, bullying and harassment incidents is significant and their behaviour can influence the course of events.

What do you do when you see something that’s just not right happening to someone nearby? Do you stand up and say something, or do you stand back and watch? What role does bystander behaviour play in establishing a workplace culture?

Graham Goulden is a former police officer w...

Charlotte Hails heads the Public Sector Vertical Strategy for Virgin Media O2 Business, working with customers in UK policing, the Home Office, Health and Local Government. She's an ambitious woman in leadership, who began her career in policing rising to become a Detective Chief Inspector leading people in counter-terrorism, safeguarding and public protection.

But Charlotte’s experiences in policing also reflect the darker s...

Research studies have shown that bullying and harassment have serious medical consequences for people’s physical and psychological health and wellbeing.

But what actually happens to the brain of people targeted by those who engage in this kind of unnecessary, unpleasant and unkind behaviour? Can people who’ve been targeted by bullies learn to recover their confidence and self-esteem, after suffering the harm caused by t...

Mark Bouchard has been in law enforcement since 2007 and has a Master’s degree in leadership, studying culture and mental health in policing. He’s the author of “Setting my sights on stigma: thoughts from an injured mind” - a candid and personal exploration of his own mental health journey and PTSD diagnosis.

In this episode, Mark talks openly about some of the critical incidents he’s been involved in ...

The British Columbia Firefighter Resiliency Program is an innovative partnership that provides practical mental health support to Canadian firefighters.

Steve Farina is Executive Vice President of the British Columbia Professional Firefighters Association and he’s played an instrumental role in the program and its success in supporting firefighter mental health.

Steve’s extensive career, from volunteer and career firefi...

Chad Costa is Assistant Fire Chief at the City of Petaluma in California, USA. He has a passion for leadership, organisational change and improving culture in the fire service family, based on over twenty six years of experience in Fire and Rescue.

As someone who’s lived life at the sharp end of Fire and Rescue culture, what can we learn from Chad about how developing leaders and supporting diversity in teams are key factors ...

Tina Chander is employment law partner at Wright Hassall - a UK legal firm whose surveys into UK workplace bullying reveal gaps in employer and employee understanding of what constitutes workplace bullying, and a high proportion of people who've either been bullied themselves or witnessed it happening to their colleagues.

What can we learn from the findings of Wright Hassall’s bullying surveys about the state of workplace bul...

You wouldn’t think an apology was a particularly difficult concept, would you? So why then, for many organisations and individuals, does “sorry” seem to be the hardest word?

What is it about making an apology - and getting that apology right - that's not straightforward? How do you make an apology, and what must you avoid doing for it to be effective? 

This is a crucial skill for anyone, but particularly rel...

"Bullying, at its core, is not an individual problem, spurred by one person, but an outgrowth of a workplace environment that either allows or encourages behaviours such as gossip, humiliation, belittling, gaslighting and exclusion.”

Those are the words of Associate Professor Dorothy Suskind in the introduction to her book about the predictable patterns that workplace bullies follow in selecting and persecuting their targets.

Emergency services are organisations held in high trust by the public. They’re people you can turn to and rely on. Rightly so, and the overwhelming majority of people working in emergency service roles are committed professionals or volunteers, dedicated to public service, and supportive of their colleagues.

So why then do research studies, media stories and independent inspections continue to show historic and current proble...

Dr Donna Stemmer is the founder of Workright23, a charitable trust based in New Zealand, that provides a platform for people affected by workplace bullying and harassment to document their experiences, get support and receive qualified advice on their options.

But Donna doesn't stop there, and she’s committed to working with organisations to provide anonymised data from complainants that can help them understand the true exte...

This is the second part of Jane’s story. In the previous episode, we heard how Jane* - an experienced HR professional - found herself becoming the target of workplace bullying, and the impact of process failures on her physical and psychological health.

Armed with upheld investigation findings, Jane just wanted to get back into the workplace and get her HR career back on track, supporting others and making a difference.

When ...

"Human Resources (HR) are here to help." That’s what most people will be told when they join an organisation - that Human Resources are the first port of call if they should ever witness or experience workplace incivility, bullying and harassment.

But how does it feel when someone “on the inside” in HR, has to go through their own process and raise a bullying complaint?

In this first episode of a two part series, ...

With insights, analysis and interviews, Life at the Sharp End helps people who want to create safe, respectful and high-performing workplace cultures.

• People who want to do their best at work, leading by example;
• People who want to learn and improve from others' experiences;
• People who want to find out what it takes to make a real difference in life;
• People who want to know what it feels like, when actions and decisions affect...