Andrea Adams

Who was Andrea Adams?

Andrea Adams was a BBC broadcaster and journalist known for insightful programs that she wrote and produced for Radio 4's Does He Take Sugar and Woman's Hour. Andrea was the first person to publicize the significance of workplace bullying, which she campaigned against after her 1980s radio program An Abuse of Power which resulted in a flood of mail from the British public. It is believed that she coined the expression "workplace bullying" in 1988. Her pioneering book, entitled Bullying at Work: How to Confront and Overcome It, was published by Virago Press in 1992.

She died from ovarian cancer in 1995. The Andrea Adams Trust, was launched to campaign against workplace bullying, established in her memory. It provided research, a helpline and education. The Trust was responsible for organising the Ban Bullying at Work Day which is held on the anniversary of Adams's death, the 7th November each year. In 2008 the Trust was closed down as Chief Executive and Founder Lyn Witheridge retired.

Adams's daughter, British author Gemini Adams, wrote a multiple award-winning book entitled, Your Legacy of Love: Realize the Gift in Goodbye, which gives a personal account of her mother's battle against cancer and the insights gained from her bereavement, including the idea that survivors need more than the financial assets that are typically left in a final will and testament. Her proposition is that the bereaved will benefit more from emotional assets — stories, values, wisdom and affection — which can be recorded and left through a Legacy of Love. The book has been translated into Japanese and Chinese.