Support for Employers

Access our Whole Picture Toolkit for mentally healthy productions – our free, easy to use resource that supports the mental health and wellbeing of people working at every stage of a production.

In this section, which is aimed at managers, senior leaders, and bystanders (people who may have witnessed an incidence of bullying), you will find an overview of your duty towards employees, information on steps you can take to implement a Bullying and Harassment Policy and a robust reporting process, as well as guidance on how to respond in the moment when a report is brought to you. 

We’ve summed this up with a response that encourages people to ‘Listen, Acknowledge, Act’; deceptively simple steps to help those faced with difficult situations to act humanely and not freeze out of fear of doing the wrong thing. This approach has been developed using behavioural science to create an easy way to help people who are faced with reports of bulling and harassment to:

• Listen: Make sure the person feels heard, able to share, and not judged. 
• Acknowledge: Validate their feelings and show you understand the potential meaning of the situation. 
• Act: Take appropriate steps either in your capacity as a manager, or by passing it on if you’re a bystander. 

Why Listen, Acknowledge, Act is important 

In our Looking Glass ’22 research, when asked how to tackle bullying, harassment, and racism in the industry:

• 52% of respondents called for better line management or supervisory training. 
• 45% of those in management roles who had dealt with bullying complaints did not feel appropriately skilled to do so. Two-thirds of this group wanted more line management training, including training targeted specifically at dealing with behavioural complaints.
   

“Everyone can play a part in tackling bullying and harassment in the film and television industries and contribute to changing the culture which has allowed such behaviour to be tolerated for too long. There is no one solution – what is required is a collective and multi-faceted approach with everyone working together to effect meaningful change.”
BFI 

We know that faith in reporting instances of bullying and harassment in the industry is low – both in terms of the number of people who feel confident enough to share their concerns with their employer and in terms of how they felt it had been handled and whether they were happy with the outcome.

Prevention is better than cure and our Whole Picture Toolkit for mentally healthy productions and our other wellbeing resources include a wealth of advice about the importance of creating an inclusive working environment, where risk is assessed adequately, people’s mental health is taken seriously, and appropriate support is provided. 

A culture of good communication, clearly defined roles, constructive feedback, and sound onboarding and exit processes all play an important part in creating that environment. Advocating a zero-tolerance approach to bullying, encouraging people to be open about the issues they are dealing with, and supporting colleagues to approach problem-solving collaboratively can all go a long way to de-escalating potential areas of conflict and creating an environment where bullying cannot thrive. 

Our Wellbeing Resources for Employers offers great advice and links to sources of information that could be useful if you need to support a member of staff experiencing poor mental health.