Bullying – would you recognise it?

As a professional, what can we expect from each other? As a team of professionals working together, the GDC states: ‘You must not bully, harass, or unfairly discriminate’ and ‘treat your colleagues with fairness and respect’.

We know what the rules say and understand them fully but the fact remains that there are many occasions when we break them. Whether it's a bad day in practice, an on-going battle with a tricky colleague or due to sheer weight of our workload, we can flip, switch – call it what you will – we are all guilty of behaving badly. Our close working environment can bring out the dark side in us all. And, without realising, we are suddenly involved in a serious battle that may or may not be a case of bullying.