Ban Bullying At Work Day takes place on the 7th November. It is one day in the year to try to raise awareness about workplace bullying. The day was originally created by the Andrea Adams Trust, a charity set up in the name of a journalist who recognised the severity of bullying in the workplace and wrote a book published in 1992 entitled 'Bullying At Work'.

Top bullying searches:

1. How to deal with bullying
2. Boss from hell
3. Bullying at work
4. Work harassment
5. Prevent bullying
6. Anti bullying policy
7. Workplace bullying
8. Bullying and stress
9. Bullying advice
10. Bullying psychological

You might think that bullying only happens to schoolchildren but you'd be wrong. Millions of people are bullied at work every day. In the workplace it involves one person abusing their position or power to undermine, criticise, hurt and humiliate another individual. Bullying can cause immense stress and statistics show that 18.9million working days are lost each year due to stress-related illnesses caused by bullying.

There are some warning signs to help spot workplace bullies. The first and most evident is an openly aggressive character - shouting and using obscenities. Other signs may be persisent criticism, setting unrealistic deadlines, taking away responsibility, spreading rumours, withholding information, ignoring other people's points of view, ostracising people, and making personal comments or insults.

If you have a bully in your workplace or are being bullied you should keep an account of any incidents, recording the date and time and what occurred. Also save any bullying emails or notes that are received - you may need to refer to these when you speak to a manager above the bully or go to your HR department. If the bully is the top dog then you might want to think about finding a new job. Whatever you do, don't let the bullies win. Never believe their criticisms and put-downs and remember that they are the ones with the problem and no one else.

Have you ever been bullied at work? Do you have any advice for someone who is being bullied? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

There's no doubt that the day-to-day stresses of modern life can get you down. But according to the National Institute for Health Clinical Excellence (Nice), it is managers that are currently "one of the biggest threats to workers' mental health".

Top work stress searches

1. Managing workplace stress
2. Symptoms of stress
3. Workplace health
4. Reduce stress
5. Good management
6. Workplace stressors
7. How to motivate employees
8. Work related stress
9. Employee reward
10. Employees management

The health watchdog has today launched official guidelines to help reduce stress in the workplace and warned that mental health problems, including stress and anxiety, are costing the average size company almost £1,000 a year for each employee.

Nice claims that its new guidance, which includes instructing senior staff to praise more often and to allow staff more control over their day-to-day work, could significantly reduce costs. Professor Cary Cooper, an expert on stress in the workplace from Lancaster University, helped Nice to draw up the guidelines.

He told the Telegraph: "I think central to all of this is your manager. Nobody damages your health more in the workplace, potentially, than your manager. They are the ones who can ensure that you have manageable workloads, realistic deadlines or flexible working. It is also critical that we train our managers to understand that we manage people by praise and reward and not just criticism."

He added that non-monetary rewards for good work such as extra time off or more interesting responsibilities as well as flexible working where appropriate, would help to ensure the mental health of staff.

But Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, disagreed saying: "These kind of statements just bring down Nice in the eyes of the general population. If they had shown us the first draft we would have told them that this is not Nice's role, it's a role for businesses."

Let us know what you think... should managers be offering a more flexible, rewarding working environment?

TV presenter Gok Wan has called for the government to provide body confidence lessons for teenage pupils today. Handing over a petition to Downing Street, Gok said that pupils should be taught about normal body shapes in a bid to counter body image issues caused by the 'perfect' bodies of celebrities and models.

Top body image searches:

1. Improving body image
2. Different body shapes
3. Body image quiz
4. Teenagers image
5. Self esteem
6. Compulsive overeating
7. Anorexia facts
8. Female body shape
9. Body confidence
10. Self confidence classes

The petition included over 45,000 signatures as Wan asked Education Secretary Ed Balls to include such lessons in the national curriculum as part of the Personal, Social and Health Education syllabus.

As part of his Channel 4 show, How to Look Good Naked, Gok has been investigating body image among British teenagers and said: "Lack of body confidence has become a national epidemic. Our survey revealed an alarming number of adolescents are struggling with basic body identity.

"Over 70 per cent of teenagers have admitted they have little or no body confidence at all. We have a social and public responsibility to advise and care for the next generation. We need to teach the next generation that what we see in the media is not a fair representation of the real body."

Wan, who has been working with women on his show for a number of years, insisted that the air-brushed and re-touched images that young people are exposed to means "they just have no idea of how their body should look".

He added: "I think that if we get into the schools and teach these kids about what is a healthy body and how all different kinds of bodies can exist in the same space then they will have a lot more acceptance for themselves and each other."

Let us know what you think. Should schools take action over children's body image issues?

Sometimes the worst does happen and that's when you feel glad you got your car or home insurance policy. But what would you do if something, god forbid, happened to your dog's ears, or to your moustache or even your guitar carved from a pumpkin? These people all made sure they were prepared for the unexpected.

Top insurance searches:

1. Insurance quote comparisons
2. Life insurance quotes
3. Contents insurance
4. House insurance
5. Pet insurance
6. Health insurance
7. Car insurance
8. Cheap travel insurance
9. Pensions insurance
10. Dental insurance

Ever insured something unusual? Leave a comment and tell us about it.

With the recession continuing to bite and confidence in the banks at an all time low, it will come as no surprise that many customers are switching service providers. But according to the results of a new survey, service is higher on our list of priorities than rates when it comes to banking. In fact, 21 per cent of those polled said they had changed bank during the past two years due to bad customer service.

Top banking searches:

1. Branch banking
2. Lloyds
3. Barclays home banking
4. Phone bank
5. High street bank
6. Compare bank accounts UK
7. Bank branch locator
8. Banking customer service
9. Bank website
10. Natwest

The news comes just as Alistair Darling is set to announce the break up of Lloyds Banking Group in a bid to boost competition within the banking sector. The survey, conducted by business advice group Deloitte, also revealed that 66 per cent hold a current account with the bank that provides the best service, compared with only 30 per cent opting for the highest interest rate offered.

Face-to-face advice and access to a local branch were also important to consumers, despite online and telephone banking being offered by the majority of banks. Over half of people said they would only open a savings account with a bank that they could visit, while 65 per cent were persuaded to take out a mortgage after speaking face-to-face with an advisor. Six out of 10 people confirmed that they were more likely to bank with those that had branches opening at weekends and during the evening.

Neil Tomlinson, head of retail banking consulting at Deloitte, said: "The importance of branches in the banking sector must not be underestimated. Branches remain the primary channel through which banks interact with many of their customers and any businesses considering expanding their remit to include banking services will need to incorporate a branch network."

Have you changed banks because of poor customer service? Or is it the best interest rates that you look for? Tell us about it by leaving a comment.