How to identify mobbing or harassment in the workplace

Ideas on how to recognize the different forms of mobbing that can occur in a company.

It is not obvious for a victim of mobbing to be aware of being a victim of mobbing.. Recognizing, accepting and coming to terms with one's situation often takes some time, mainly for two reasons.

The first is the lack of information about the problem. In Spain and in Europe, workplace harassment is relatively unknown in all its dimensions and implications compared to, for example, other similar forms of violence such as sexual harassment.

The second is its course. At first, harassment may go unnoticed, since the aggressive behavior usually starts out sporadic and of low intensity, and then increases progressively. When the employee realizes that the situation is unsustainable, it becomes difficult to stop.

That is why it is important to know how to recognize it in its early stages.. To do this, it is best to understand on the one hand its course and the strategies carried out by the aggressor and, on the other hand, to identify its consequences.

How to identify workplace bullying in the company

We are going to focus on the behaviors of aggression carried out by the harasser in each phase.

First phase

The start of the harassment may be preceded by a conflict or, on the contrary, begin without an apparent motive. In the latter case, the aggressor will carefully "rehearse" the aggressive behaviors. A reprimand in public, a few derogatory remarks, hints, a joke in public, sowing seeds of aggression.a joke in public, sowing a rumor, etc.

He acts in a subtle way, always looking for an excuse in case he is unmasked ("It was all a joke!", "I'm like that", etc.). If the aggressor perceives that the behavior has gone unpunished or that some of his peers have laughed at him, he will gradually increase the frequency or intensity of the harassment while trying new methods to cause additional harm.

Also It is also possible that this phase may be triggered by a conflict or a particular situation.. A conflict that the organization does not resolve and that the aggressor will use as a recurring excuse to justify his behavior.

If the aggressor is a superior, there will also be frequent complaints about the work, the imposition of impossible tasks (so that the employee cannot fulfill them and thus have a perfect excuse to continue with the criticism) or, on the contrary, tasks that are not in accordance with the employee's training: asking him to prepare a coffee, to make photocopies, etc.

These micro-aggressions will gradually, day by day, undermine the victim's morale. In fact, in France, mobbing is called "moral harassment" because its objective is precisely that: to demoralize the victim.

Second phase

In a second phase, the aggressor will deploy a heterogeneous repertoire of behaviors The aggressor will deploy a heterogeneous repertoire of behaviors depending on his malice, his power, his capabilities, the implicit or explicit support of witnesses and the tolerance he perceives in the organization itself.

Obviously, there are an infinite number of aggressive behaviors. Some of them would be threatening, insulting, criticizing, discrediting, harassing, ignoring, harassing, defaming, ridiculing, making the task difficult, silencing, etc. Studies suggest that this Wide range of destructive behaviors responds to four types of strategies:

1. Intimidation

This includes behaviors such as verbal threats, looks of contempt, shouting, whispering in their presence, provoke emotional reactions in the victimetc.

2. The isolation of the victim

Preventing the victim from talking to colleagues, not allowing him/her to express him/herself or interrupting him/her when speaking, leaving him/her without a telephone or computer, placing him/her in a secondary or marginal place, not passing on important calls, hiding relevant information, etc.

3. Work-related and personal discrediting

Spreading rumors, minimizing their efforts and achievements, concealing their skills and competencies, commenting on their mistakes in public, criticizing their work in public, etc.Commenting on her mistakes in public, criticizing her (remember that she has been previously burdened with unfeasible jobs or "set up" to fail, etc.). In addition to the professional discredit, the victim will be discredited personally.

Personality traits will be sought to explain their abnormal behavior (when the possible abnormal behavior has a lot to do with the situation they are going through). This strategy is important because it will eventually lead to the expulsion of the worker under the pretext that he/she was not efficient or had a disorder.

4. Impeding professional progress

Not providing feedback or giving bad evaluations. Not assigning interesting projects or, on the contrary, Assigning him/her tasks that are not in line with his/her experience or training, not proposing him/her for promotion.Not proposing them for promotions, hindering their development, etc.

One of the main characteristics of this type of violence is its continuity over time. The worker can endure this mistreatment for years. Obviously, this prolongation in time has destructive consequences for the worker's mental and physical health. At some point either the worker or the company tries to deal with the situation, which brings us to the resolution phase.

Third phase

In this phase, worker and company try to find a solution to the problem. Sometimes companies try to mediate between aggressor and victim either through the personnel department, unions or by using professional mediation services. Mediation in this type of problem is not usually an adequate resource from the victim's point of view..

On the one hand because when the company resorts to these services the mediator himself tends to be conditioned to adopt a solution, which is usually a drastic solution (remember that the company wants to get rid of the problem as soon as possible). The situation of strong psychosocial deterioration of the worker can end up convincing the mediator that the best option would be the exit of the worker himself.

Another alternative is to open an "internal investigation" which, in the best of cases, may result in the employee being transferred to a new job, although it usually happens that this employee already carries with him this "stigma" that may hinder his adjustment to the new location.

It is common for the worker to voluntarily request such a change of job, although this desire is rarely satisfied. The employee's desire to change jobs is rarely fulfilled. In private companies, there is the aggravating circumstance that a worker with several years of experience does not want to leave and give up his severance pay. This leads him to go through an ordeal that brings an aggravation of the sequels in his health.

During this phase, sick leave due to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms and other types of extra-occupational social problems are common (break-ups with partners, distancing from friends, etc.), which place the worker in a situation of extreme vulnerability and normally end with dismissal.

Concluding

If as an employee you recognize yourself in any of these or in the type of strategies and maneuvers we have described, it is likely that you are suffering mobbing. In that case, the best thing to do is to ask for professional advice and help to try to get out of the situation. Trying to do it by yourself can be a titanic task with little chance of success. The necessary help must be both psychological and legal.