04/10/2026
Almost 10 years ago, 3,350 assistants responded to our first global survey on workplace bullying, and almost 60% told us they had experienced it during their careers.
The findings were shocking, but behind every percentage was a person trying to continue working while their confidence, health and sense of safety were being eroded, often by somebody who had far more organisational power than they did.
I know what that feels like because it happened to me. I was bullied to the point of a nervous breakdown, dismissed from my job and required to sign a confidentiality agreement, while the person responsible remained in place despite having been reported before.
My latest Substack returns to that 2017 research and asks whether anything has really changed. Organisations have spent years improving their policies, wellbeing programmes and speak-up language, but are assistants any safer when the person causing the harm is the person who holds the power?
We are also launching a new global survey because we need to understand what workplace bullying looks like across the administrative profession today, what happens when assistants report it and whether organisations are protecting their people or protecting those with status and influence.
Bonnie Low-Kramen and I will reveal the findings at ES Thrive on 18–19 November, and we will publish the full results and recommendations in a new Executive Support Magazine supplement.
Unless a light is shone on workplace bullying, nothing changes. Please read the article, complete the survey if it is relevant to you and share it with assistants across the world. We need to hear what is really happening.
https://lucybrazierobe.substack.com/p/almost-ten-years-ago-we-exposed-workplace
