I had some of the best times and created amazing programs including the world first Paralympic Mentoring Program and I got to work with some of the best humans I’ve ever met.

But I also experienced the worst times of my life

I witnessed and experienced bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination and mental health stigma, some at the hands of the agencies meant to regulate these issues..

In 2016, I burnt out completely. I was working 12 hour days with no lunch breaks, working most weekends to keep on top of the 200+ emails each day. I had a $4M budget and a new team, all while creating programs to support seriously injured people.

I experienced bullying from within my team and my manager. After 12 months of stress, overwhelm and feeling psychologically unsafe at work, my body and brain said that’s enough… I realised there was a problem with my health when I got on the scales at the doctor’s office and I was 48kgs…

I started seeing a psychologist and began my healing and recovery journey, some of which I share in the 7 Dark Sides of Work Summit with the Guest Experts on Recovery. I’ll share more about my journey another time.

This was just one of a number of horrible experiences I’ve had during my career. I’m not alone in what I’ve been through. Bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination, poor leadership, micro management, office politics and mental health stigma instead of support happens everyday for many people all over the world.

I look at my experiences through the lens of:

• How can I help others who are going through this?
• How can I give managers the tools to handle these issues?
• How can I support employers to meet their obligations and provide a safe working environment?

In 2019, after a number of incidents, with what felt like no help or change in sight, I started Neon Shed.

The Dark Sides of Work

Neon Shed makes tough communications easy and brings light to the dark sides of work

I’ve found 7 Dark Sides of Work that create an unsafe and unhealthy workplace.