How Do You Deal with a Workplace Bully?

Across our professional careers, many of us will come into contact with a difficult colleague or hard-to-please superior. But what happens when difficult behaviour crosses over into bullying at work? What effect does this have, not only on our wellbeing, but on our workplace as a whole?

Evidence suggests that bullying may be on the rise in the UK. A 2025 survey of British workers conducted by ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) found that 44% of respondents had experienced conflict at work in the last 12 months. And on the global stage, the resurgence of ‘strong man’ leadership has reignited a debate: does bullying behaviour get you what you want?

Evan and the panel look at what workplace bullying is, when and why bullying can occur, and the steps individuals and organisations can take to tackle this behaviour in the workplace.

Guests: Jason Warner, Managing Director (UK and EMEA) at SBS Kevin Rowan, Director of Dispute Resolution at ACAS Kara Ng, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Psychology at Alliance Manchester Business School, University of Manchester

Production team: Presenter: Evan Davis Producer: Mhairi MacKenzie Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Sound engineers: James Beard and Neil Churchill Editor: Matt Willis

The Bottom Line is produced in partnership with The Open University