Sir, – The other day at the checkout of a well-known retailer, I saw badges and bracelets for sale on behalf of the ISPCC for children to wear in school and elsewhere as part of their admirable Stand Up Against Bullying campaign.
With bullying endemic in many Irish workplaces, it strikes me that it would equally be a good idea for adults to wear these as well.
While bullies generally back down when they are challenged, this is not always the case in the workplace; especially if the ethos of bullying comes from management and is systemic and when the perpetrators are close to management.
Nonetheless, the wearing of such tokens would be an effective way of highlighting this insidious issue.
Group dynamics can influence for better or worse. The more people who chose to wear the emblems in the work place, the greater the likelihood for positive change and for putting what is often a hidden problem firmly to the forefront. – Yours, etc,
MARGARET HOGAN,
Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.