Bullying at work: the B-word we don’t talk about enough

When those two blue lines appeared on the pregnancy test 20 years ago, my heart was full but the tears in my eyes were a salty mix of happiness and utter dread.

I was a few months into a role that was meant to be my dream job, but in reality, I was sleepwalking through a career nightmare and navigating the kind of bullying one would hope was left in the playground.

I desperately wished I’d never left my TV job for this opportunity, and perhaps I’d have stuck it out for longer, but it wasn’t just about me anymore, there was my unborn baby to think about too.

Last week, as I wrapped my son’s birthday presents, my mind drifted back to that time and decided to share the experience on LinkedIn and have been blown away by the response.

Nearly 220,000 impressions later, I’m still listening to voice notes, reading private messages, and responding to comments from people around the world. These are people I know, but also hundreds I have never met, and one thing they all had in common were the same two words: "me too."

Across PR agencies, marketing teams, and communications departments, men and women, young and young at heart, shared stories that felt painfully familiar, out of order and totally unjust. 

The uninvited comments about how they looked or what they wore, digs when they declined drinks after work, and the "part-timer" chorus for those committing the "crime" of leaving on time to collect their children.

Reading them felt like reading a story that I already knew by heart but still had the hope of a happy ending.

Sneaky looks and snide comments

The thread talked not so much of dramatic events but all the little things you brush off at first but when stitched together, they create a patchwork blanket you want to hide under, and that’s exactly what I did.

For me, it was the sneaky looks when I spoke in meetings, the smirks when I walked into a room, and the raised eyebrows and snorts at my suggestions. The once-over of my outfits became painfully clear when I heard I had been nicknamed "gymkhana girl" behind my back, and apparently left a certain team member "cold." 

Let’s not forget the birthday drinks I organised the card and present for, but everyone left for the pub while I was in the loo, taking said gift but not me.

That was unnecessarily unkind, but even now, as I write this, part of me pauses and wonders, "Was it really that bad?". Then I remember the beta blockers prescribed by my GP, who saw me more than once for panic attacks and anxiety, so yes, it really was that bad, if not worse.

I went from being a positive, proactive newcomer eager to make a difference, to second-guessing every email before sending it, triple checking press releases and counting the minutes until I could leave the place that felt like the prison I walked past to get to the office. 

After hearing so many similar experiences I did some research and found Bectu’s Big Survey from 2025 which looked at the experiences of more than 5,500 people. As the union for creative ambition, 69% of women surveyed said they’d directly experienced workplace bullying and harassment in the previous 12 months, while that figure rose to 72% for workers with disabilities.

That is staggering, and yet, while I am saddened, I am not surprised. 

We must do better and be there for those who are being bullied, rather than becoming part of the toxic mix ourselves, and I don’t mean memes on walls and open doors that, in my experience, were closed.

Policies on paper, poison on the grapevine

Yes, workplaces have HR teams, but it’s the unofficial function that runs alongside where decisions seem to be made. The whisper network, the group chats, and the subtle, gradual positioning of someone as "difficult," "not quite fitting," or "the problem" because, as was my case, I am pretty sure I wasn’t the chosen hire.

That is not harmless banter or “just how it is”, it’s wrong and can be utterly devastating. While some people move on to another employer, others, like me, find a new way of working and decide to go out on their own.

I had a battered Dell laptop, morning sickness, and a belief that no one should be treated the way I had been. Although it was not the only bullying I have experienced in my career, it was by far the worst, and I was not going to let them beat me, if anything, it gave me the determination to build something different.

As I approach 52 next week, having built an award-winning business, written three books, and used publicity to become a global voice in paediatric hip dysplasia, there is no version of me today that would accept that kind of environment for myself or anyone else.

Those two blue lines, at a moment when I felt at my most broken and disliked, should have been a time to celebrate with colleagues, to plan baby showers, and to share scan photos, but there was no way I was going to do that.

Instead, the next day I walked in, resigned, walked out and vowed never to be in that situation again.

The response to my LinkedIn post tells me people are ready to talk about this, but there is still hesitation and fear. 

The Bectu survey reflected this with only 55% of those who had experienced bullying or harassment reporting the incident to their employer or engager, and of those who did report it, only 12% were satisfied with the response, while 42% said the response they received was insufficient.

If you are in this situation, please tell someone, ask for help, and make a plan, because no job is worth your wellbeing or your mental health. If you know it is happening to someone else, speak up and offer support, don’t be part of the toxic grapevine.

Lastly, if you are the bully, or part of a clique making somebody’s working life miserable, remember you are not in the playground anymore, so grow up and be a decent human being.

• Support can be found at The Samaritans.
• Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday 11 May 11 to Sunday 17 May 2026.

Natalie Trice is the founder of Natalie Trice Publicity, a boutique PR agency working with experts, founders, and brands in the health, wellness, and communications space. She lives in Devon with her family and is currently swimming 40 outdoor pools in memory of her dad while raising funds for Hospiscare.

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