A friend sent me a picture of the front of the NT newspaper stating that there had been yet another death on the Oil & Gas Project where I worked for 3.5 years.
I was deeply saddened but not shocked:
The total cost of depression to Australian employers due to presentism and absenteeism is estimated to be approximately $6.3 billion per annum – Safe Work Australia.
Fighting hard for men and woman’s mental health was part of me during my time on the Project. I created my own position within the company, as the Culture Coordinator and I was referred to as ‘The face of the company’.
On the outside, I was successful, happy and the passionate driving force for change in mental health stigma. Behind the scenes, it was a very different story. Toxic leadership and narcissist management subjected me to extensive workplace bullying for more than 2 years.
But I stayed on… I could not deal with guilt if one of the workforce I championed hard for lost their life to suicide due to the lack of support from Human Resources.
My bully was, in fact, the HR/IR manager and I was bullied for two reasons:
Why am I speaking up now?
It’s time for a change. Workplace bullying is REAL and it’s not a small ‘dark corner’ either.
Reaching out to the many amazing leaders and change makers I met during my time in the OIL & GAS industry – Break the Silence!
Condolences to the family of the mentioned above.
#breakstigma #breakthesilence #bullyology
