I am a Senior Producer on a very high-profile, primetime show on a major channel.
This is not a story of specific bullying towards one person but rather a case where the executive producer has created a tense atmosphere of fear, anxiety and unhappiness throughout the team which is driving myself and numerous others to leave the show as we have reached breaking point.
Working on a fast-turnaround, high-profile show we all expect to work long hours, however on this particular show we work over and above 70hours per week, often until the early hours. The exec has physically barred people from leaving the edit until 4am.
Like many TV roles our days are a minimum 12hr shift, but in this case with no breaks and people are frequently shouted at if they leave the edit - even if just for five minutes to get lunch or coffee. We are put under intense pressure to always be perfect, but naturally can never reach the exec's unreasonable standards which leads to them literally screaming at team members and having tantrums in the edit suites.
Due to this behaviour, much of our time and energy is not put into producing the show but rather into finding ways to try and avoid conflict and placate the exec when they kick off. This exec is very controlling and micro-manages everyone which leaves us feeling untrusted and questioning our judgement as we're consistently told we aren't good enough.
During Covid-19 the exec's behaviour has worsened as they try to retain control in an ever-changing environment. The vast majority of the team has not been allowed to work from home which makes social distancing and Covid-safe working very difficult. We are discouraged against isolating if we display Covid symptoms and have been told we will not be paid if we isolate for any reason (these are all roles which could be undertaken from home while isolating if necessary).
We were told at the start of the contract that we would be fired immediately should we need to quarantine following any foreign travel and have also been banned from downloading the Track & Trace app. Unfortunately, we have nobody within the company at large we can report this behaviour to, as we know the behaviour would only get worse if the exec was called out on their actions. This has therefore led to a significant talent-drain as, bit by bit, key team members leave, whilst the Exec's behaviour continues to remain unchallenged. We are all left feeling that the wellbeing of the production is far superior to any individual's wellbeing. I cannot see this situation changing until there is a real change in the attitude of production companies to their freelancers.