In a 2005 report by VitalSmarts entitled Silence Kills surveyed 1700 Healthcare workers, and of those, a staggering 85% of reported witnessing or experienced bullying behaviors - but only 10% spoke up.
We know that 70% of sentinel events occur as a result of communication breakdown - these are numbers we can and must turn around.
What keeps people from speaking up when they witness microaggressions, broken policies, and blaming? Fear.
Fear of becoming a target, fear of problems worsening, fear of retaliation, fear no one would support them.
In the absence of speaking up, staff isolate themselves as a means to "protect themselves" but we have to ask ... at what cost?
As leaders we have to open the dialogue around what workplace bullying is and is not, and help others navigate away from disconnection and towards connection.