A Cheltenham writer has made it into the Sunday Times bestsellers list with his book on toxic workplaces.

Clive Lewis said he was 'taken aback but pleasantly surprised' to find his book 'Toxic: A Guide to Rebuilding Respect and Tolerance in a Hostile Workplace' - published by Bloomsbury - had made it into the Sunday Times business bestsellers list for 2021.

The book draws on Mr Lewis' decades of experience in HR and mediation to distil the problems and underlying causes of turbulent office environments.

Clive Lewis told Punchline Gloucester: "I got a text message from a friend congratulating me and I had to go back and admit I didn't know what they were talking about!"

Mr Lewis is one of the country's most sought-after mediators and is the founder and chief executive of Globis Mediation Group.

He spent 12 years as an HR director in the retail sector with the Kingfisher Group, parent company of B&Q, and time in technology licensing. He is currently studying for a PhD with Birkbeck University.

Toxic is his 17th published book but the first one to make the bestsellers list.

He was awarded an OBE in 2011 for public service and his contribution to workplace mediation. He chaired the panel which produced the Government-backed report following the death of Stephen Lawrence and was appointed deputy lieutenant of Gloucestershire in 2012.

He serves as a non-executive director in the NHS, is deputy chair at the University of the West of England, and in his spare time is a professional bass guitar player.

Clive said: "My writing is primarily about the experiences of trying to help others in their places of work, the lived experience of others, combined with insights drawn from academic research."

He uses case studies from an array of workplaces ranging from corporate offices to hospitals, demonstrating how toxicity can be prevented and resolved.

He went straight into the world of work but returned to study to do a masters at Westminster University before transferring to Birkbeck for his PhD which explores the concept of 'civility'.

Of the turbulent times that business is currently experiencing he says: "My sense is that as temporal distance increases from the initial lockdown and pandemic there are increasing amounts of tension and people are resorting to rights and litigation rather than working with challenges from a collaborative viewpoint -which is really unfortunate."

Clive has been busy publicising the book all year with speaking events and made an appearance at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. It has been selling well in the United States and Australia as well as the UK.

He said: "I think the book is timely and relevant and I think I got lucky with the title because it makes people stop and think what it's about!"