• Professor Roberta Fida and Dr Lowri Evans led the project to develop a workplace aggression prevention toolkit and dashboard
• The toolkit, and the associated interactive dashboard, provide practical resources to companies and policymakers to prevent workplace aggression
• The toolkit and dashboard were introduced by Councillor Rob Pocock from Birmingham City Council at a business breakfast

Aston Business School has launched an evidence-based workplace aggression prevention toolkit and dashboard to provide employers and HR professionals with practical resources to build safer, healthier, and more inclusive workplaces.

The research to develop the toolkit and interactive dashboard was led by Professor Roberta Fida, head of the Leadership and Management Department, and Dr Lowri Evans. The resources were launched at a business breakfast for local employers on 18 September 2025 at Conference Aston in Birmingham. Councillor Rob Pocock, cabinet member for transformation, governance and HR at Birmingham City Council, introduced the toolkit and dashboard and explained its importance.

The researchers say that systemic cultural change is necessary to reduce workplace aggression, and created the toolkit to address this.Workplace aggression, including bullying, harassment, incivility, discrimination, and violence remains widespread. One in four UK employees reports workplace conflict or abuse annually. For example, data from NHS England shows that 17% of employees reported bullying from colleagues and 25% reported bullying from patients/the public. The consequences are significant for staff wellbeing, organisational performance, and society, costing NHS England an estimated £2.281bn each year.

The toolkit itself, available online and also in a printed format, contains clear definitions of workplace aggression, and practical, step-by-step strategies for prevention at three levels – primary, secondary and tertiary – for the perpetrator engaging in workplace aggression, the target of the aggression, and the bystander who witnesses it. This is known as the Multi-Actor Prevention Framework.

Primary level prevention aims to shape culture and expectations and stop aggression before it occurs. This includes measures to reduce the risk of an individual becoming a perpetrator, or becoming a target, and to ensure that a bystander takes appropriate action when they witness workplace aggression.

Secondary level prevention aims to stop workplace aggression early before it escalates and causes wider harm. This includes identifying individuals at risk of engaging in workplace aggression and providing behavioural coaching or structured supervision, providing immediate access to confidential reporting routes for targets of aggression and encouraging bystanders to report concerns early.

Tertiary level prevention aims to help employees recover from the consequences of workplace aggression, rebuild trust, and prevent recurrence. This can include rehabilitation plans for perpetrators, access to counselling and recovery resources, and supporting the repair of career or reputational harm.

The dashboard is an interactive tool that allows organisations to map their current practices, identify gaps, and track prevention efforts.

Bringing together the three actors and three levels ensures no actor is overlooked and no stage is neglected. This framework responds directly to gaps in existing policy, where definitions are unclear, digital aggression is under-regulated, bystanders are absent, and interventions remain reactive rather than preventive.

The toolkit includes several illustrative case studies, including on cyberbullying. This case study looks at a situation when ‘Sarah’ was promoted over her colleague ‘Mark’, who becomes resentful and begins to send memes, emojis, and sarcastic comments mocking the team dynamics. Sarah eventually goes to HR. Each case study includes a practical question, in this case asking what the reader would do if they were the HR representative Sarah approached, and a reflective question, in this case asking the reader to consider their company’s current policies.

As part of the work, the researchers carried out policy mapping of 8,413 statutory and advisory documents, and found that just 57 directly address workplace aggression. They identified six major shortcomings. There are inconsistent and sometimes contradictory definitions of bullying, harassment, and violence, and insufficient tools for monitoring workplace aggression. Aggression in remote and homeworking contexts is barely covered. Witnesses, who can be vital to whether aggression is challenged or escalates, are largely ignored. The word ‘prevention’ is used vaguely and not defined, and most recommendations focus on minimising harm rather than preventing it in the first place.

Councillor Pocock said:

“I think this is a really excellent initiative and I’m really pleased to have been able to come and introduce the project. I think the issue of workplace aggression and bullying is a growing problem for this country and a growing problem for every employer. I think the toolkit that has been developed at Aston University will help organisations like the City Council deal with this problem. Many congratulations to all the researchers who’ve been involved.”

Professor Fida said:

“Workplace aggression is not inevitable. I was motivated to work on this project because of the real human cost of bullying and harassment, which damages people’s health and dignity at work. We strongly believe that with the right tools, organisations can move from fragmented, reactive responses to proactive, evidence-based prevention.

“I have dedicated my career to understanding how harm in organisations can be prevented and how wellbeing can be promoted, with much of my work focusing on how processes like moral disengagement allow harmful behaviours to become normalised. This project has been a wonderful opportunity to translate that research into practice. With the toolkit and dashboard, we want to give employers and policymakers the means to take concrete steps toward safer, healthier, and more inclusive workplaces where dignity is protected.”

Dr Evans said:

“The toolkit and dashboard are designed to make complex research accessible and practical. They give HR leaders and managers the tools to reflect on their current practices, identify gaps, and take action. We developed the toolkit and dashboard as part of our commitment to engaging with organisations, ensuring that academic research translates into meaningful impact in real-world contexts. By using these resources, organisations can build a culture where prevention is embedded in everyday practice rather than only reacting when harm has already occurred.”