Work place bullying is deadly,kills slowly, says EDRC

…urges workers to seek redress

From Charity Nwakaudu, Abuja

A non-governmental organization Equality Development and Research Center (EDRC) has described work place bullying as a silent killer.

The founder of the group, Marsha Nwanne said this yesterday in Abuja while sensitizing the staff of Ministry of labour on the effects of work place bullying. She stressed that it is drastically reducing Nigerians productivity and life span.

Nwenne further stated that work place bullying need to be addressed urgently as alot of Nigerians are suffering from challenges associated with it.

She said’We need to put our hands together, put all reliant stakeholders together and fight this terrible vice called work place bullying . It is a tragedy and a silent killer. You will be very shocked at how many people have died because of what they experienced at work and more are silently dying if nothing is done to address it.”

She therefore urged workers to seek redress from relivent authorities whenever they feel they are being bullied at work place

A mental health expert, Dr Garba Itopa stated that both personal development and phycological health are affected by the working environment of an individual.

He insisted that alot of health challenges in the country are caused by poor working relationships and environments.

He advised workers to quit any job affecting their mental health” I know jobs are very difficult to get in Nigeria but to be able to stay around in sound mind,quit any job that is giving you phycological disorder.”

Another speaker,Barr. Emmanuel Onuche on his part urged the workers not to keep quiet whenever they are bullied, adding that the better working place the higher the productivity.

Meanwhile, the Controller, Ministry of Labour and Employment Titi Ayemoba lamented that bullying at working place is alarming and worrisome because most Nigerians don’t know where and how to seek redress when bullied.

She urged Nigerians to write to Ministry of Labour or NGOs like EDRC whenever they are bullied,”bullying at work place is becoming worrisome as most Nigerians don’t know where and how to seek redress. The Ministry of Labour is built to create a conducive working environment for Nigeria workers,so whenever you feel you are bullied,you are free to write to us or NGOs like EDRC and we will be there for you.”