---
title: "In Conversation with Dame Neslyn: How Do You Break the Silence on Bullying at Work?"
description: Anti-Bullying Week 2026 asks us to Break the Silence. Dame Neslyn Watson-Druée on the signs of workplace bullying and how leaders get people talking.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-11-12T13:24:04.496Z
updated: 2026-11-12T13:24:32.705Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/in-conversation-with-dame-neslyn-how-do-you-break-the-silence-on-bullying-at-work
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/rw-autumn-2026-dame-neslyn-watson-druee-portrait.webp
categories: Female leadership, Transformational change
content_type: Interview
publication: Rich Woman Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
about:
  - type: Person
    name: Dame Neslyn Watson-Druée, DBE
    description: "For over four decades, Dame Neslyn taught High Profile Executives to unlearn what they know and learn about the societal fabric of success: courage.\n\nA Business psychologist and Prof. Executive Coach serving CEOs, Directors and Aspiring Directors to be their best in their leadership. All her clients, without exception achieve high performance, excelling in their field against all challenges, re-imagining their business and life with courage, passion and purpose.\n\nHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III recognition came not once but on four occasions, but that did not end Dame Neslyn’s genuine desire to deliver excellence in leadership. Being awarded an MBE for nursing leadership was just the beginning of her firm commitment to progress followed by The Queen’s Medal and CBE for Health Service Innovation and Leadership."
    url: https://neslyn.com
    jobTitle: Founder
    worksFor: Beacon Organisational Development
    sameAs:
      - https://twitter.com/BeaconOD
      - https://www.linkedin.com/in/neslynwatsondruee/
---

Anti-Bullying Week opens on Monday 16th November across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the theme Break the Silence. More than 200 children and young people helped to shape it, and many of them described the same thing: the silence that surrounds bullying, and how hard it is to ask for help.

Adults know that silence too. In a 2026 survey of 1,000 UK workers, two in five said they had been bullied or had experienced negative behaviour at work. In another survey this year, only three in five employees said they felt safe using formal channels to report bad behaviour, and 41% worried they would be identified even when they reported anonymously.

I sat down with Dame Neslyn Watson-Druée DBE, Editor-in-Chief of Rich Monday Paper+ London Edition, former NHS Chair, Thinking Environment practitioner and author of *From Impossible to Possible*, to talk about what breaking the silence means for you as a leader.

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