Dominic Raab has stepped down from his roles in government [Pippa Fowler/Downing Street]

DOMINIC Raab, the deputy prime minister and justice secretary, showed little contrition as he resigned from his posts following a bullying investigation.

Combative to the end, he said the inquiry was flawed and that civil servants were conspiring against him.

Whatever the details of this case, you do not have to go far – from Whitehall and out to local authorities – to find public sector workers who will tell you privately how unhappy they have been made to feel.

When something goes wrong, officers may tell you that they have become the scapegoats and the punchbags – verbally – as all the frustration explodes and blame is shifted around.

It would not be unthinkable that somewhere in the public consciousness this “robust” approach by bosses – as it is often delicately described – is seen as simply the way to get things done at the top.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s rage was given the nickname “the hair dryer” due to accounts of occasions when he would let rip in Manchester United’s dressing room. The story goes that he even kicked a loose boot at David Beckham’s face. These tales are seen as legendary, fun anecdotes.

On television, the chef Gordon Ramsay had a long line of shows in which he would loudly berate anybody struggling to keep pace in the kitchen.

And one of the BBC’s most popular programmes is The Apprentice, in which people watch and enjoy how Lord Alan Sugar torments people who want to work with him.

Succession too is loved, and while people may laugh knowingly that all of the characters are supposed to be unlikeable, thanks to the smart script and witty one-liners, the bad behaviour is often seen as something to smile at rather than deplore.

None of these examples are classed as bullying, but it could be said an immersion in a world of Malcolm Tuckers means it is almost seen as normal to scream to get what you want at work.

In fact, in all sorts of organisations, this could be going on without the perpetrators ever realising – or at least considering – the harm they are causing.

Staff down the hierarchy go home in tears though, because they have been shouted at in front of their colleagues with no chance for a reasoned response.

They can end up hating jobs they once loved and over the years the New Journal has been aware of several reports in large institutions where people in the past have come to dread going to work. Colleagues may have turned a blind eye to protect an ally or themselves.

Raab’s case is another battlefront in which undefined snowflakes will be told they are simply too weedy.

But a culture shift rather than a culture war would be more welcome.