Nigel's story

"The issues pretty much started from day one. It was a workplace with a culture of people joking and taking the mickey out of others, and, as the new person, I was easy pickings for them. But it was horrible and continuous, so I lost all my self-confidence. I hated going into work as I knew it was going to be another day of being humiliated in front of others.

"The situation got worse when I lost a family member in January 2018. It was a shock and hit me quite hard, so I became even quieter at work which kicked off a period when the comments got worse. They also started to spread rumours that were outright lies and others stopped talking to me because of that. I was so down, hurt and lonely, and kept wondering why they were targeting me. I eventually decided to speak to my line manager and, apart from hearing me out, nothing was done about it. It actually seemed like my manager was on their side as, after I raised the issue, my colleagues started hiding my work tools and my manager would have a go at me for not doing my work on time, even when I explained what they were doing.

"It all came to a head when I was threatened at work – one of my colleagues got right in my face and was being really aggressive. This triggered memories from years earlier when I was attacked by a man with a knife who cut my face. As my colleague was threatening me, I broke down. I couldn’t stop shaking and crying and I had to go home. I was so low and felt like I had no control. It was then that I decided to call Ben.

"The support team were great and quickly arranged for me to see a counsellor, which was such a relief as I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.

"After some time off I went back to work for financial reasons, and the culture is still the same but the counselling I’m having helps me get through each day. Even though the situation at work hasn’t improved I feel stronger. I’m determined not to feel that low and worthless again.

"The culture may not have changed but I have and I will not give up or let them get me down."