Aston Business School launches evidence-based workplace aggression prevention toolkit – HR News
Summary
Aston Business School has published an evidence-based toolkit and interactive dashboard to help employers and HR professionals prevent workplace aggression and build safer, more inclusive workplaces. The project was led by Professor Roberta Fida and Dr Lowri Evans and launched at Conference Aston on 18 September 2025.
The resources use a Multi-Actor Prevention Framework that targets three actors (perpetrator, target and bystander) across three prevention levels (primary, secondary and tertiary). The toolkit provides definitions, step-by-step prevention strategies, case studies (including cyberbullying), and an interactive dashboard for organisations to map practices, identify gaps and track progress.
Policy mapping of 8,413 documents found only 57 that explicitly address workplace aggression and revealed six major shortcomings: inconsistent definitions, poor monitoring tools, weak coverage of remote/homeworking contexts, neglect of witnesses, vague use of ‘prevention’, and an emphasis on reactive measures rather than prevention.
Key Points
- Aston has released a practical toolkit and dashboard to prevent workplace aggression, led by Prof Roberta Fida and Dr Lowri Evans.
- The Multi-Actor Prevention Framework covers perpetrator, target and bystander across primary, secondary and tertiary prevention levels.
- Primary prevention focuses on shaping culture to stop aggression before it starts; secondary on early intervention; tertiary on recovery and preventing recurrence.
- The interactive dashboard helps organisations map current practice, spot gaps and monitor prevention efforts over time.
- Policy mapping (8,413 documents) found only 57 directly addressing aggression and flagged major policy gaps, especially around remote working and bystander roles.
- The toolkit includes practical case studies (e.g. cyberbullying) with reflective and action-oriented questions for HR teams.
Why should I read this?
Short version: if you work in HR, people management or run a team, this is a ready-made, research-backed playbook to stop nastiness before it wrecks morale. It saves you time by turning heavy research into clear actions, templates and a dashboard so you can actually see where your organisation stands — and what to fix first.
Context and relevance
Workplace aggression (bullying, harassment, incivility, discrimination, violence) remains widespread — one in four UK employees reports conflict or abuse annually. NHS England data and cost estimates (c. £2.281bn per year) underline the financial and human impact. The toolkit responds to rising demand for preventive, evidence-based approaches, fills policy gaps around definitions and remote working, and places bystanders and prevention at the centre of organisational practice. For HR teams, regulators and policymakers, it’s a timely resource that aligns with trends towards proactive wellbeing and safer workplace cultures.
