Field maintains that people aren’t getting the message: “A lot of people still see bullying as physical violence,” she says in the article. “In fact, any form of psychological abuse or violence will cause as much brain damage as a physical assault.

“We have judges saying ‘Oh well, it was just a storm in a teacup,’ instead of saying, ‘Why isn’t this person ever able to work again?’”

She also says that while it was not possible to prevent bullying altogether, workplaces needed to do more to stop it, the article says.

“The problem is really poor management, that’s all it is,” she says.

“Managers have got to say we know it’s going to happen, let’s take spot checks, let’s keep an eye on our staff, once a month let’s see how staff are feeling.

“If they are feeling threatened, unsafe then it is bad for business and it’s bad for their mental health, let’s make sure and stop it and find a nice collaborative way to do it,” she says in the article.