Mobbing And Harassment Are The Most Common Causes Of "office Psychosomatics"

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

There are many articles on the Internet about the unpleasant psychological aspects of office life, including mobbing with elements of harassment and harassment that flows into mobbing. I will tell you about the side of the issue that I have to deal with as a psychosomatics specialist, since it is this that is the only substantial evidence that what is happening in your office can go beyond the law and be criminally punishable. After all, the problem of bullying or harassment is a psychological aspect that cannot be “felt”, presented and proven. But these phenomena worsen the quality of life, undermine physical health, and sometimes even lead to mental disorders, pushing the victim of mobbing or harassment to illegal, illegal actions.

What is mobbing and how does it manifest itself?

Mobbing / bullying / ganging up are terms that mean the same thing in minor differences - bullying. Both managers and subordinates can become victims. There can be a lot of reasons, and both new employees who “did not fit into the team” and old ones who suddenly began to “stand out” by their superiors can be harassed. The victim can be "true", who was disliked "by default", or it can be a "provocateur" who, consciously or not, creates a situation of opposition.

This bullying can be recognized by the following signs:

- the victim is not provided with the necessary information or is provided with it in such a way that she cannot change anything (in her conclusions, decisions, organization of events, etc.), is reported too late or in a distorted form;

- documents from the victim's desktop periodically disappear or are transferred to another place, the necessary pages are closed on the computer or files are deleted, contacts are confused or an absurd distribution is made, etc.;

- they do not start conversations with the victim on abstract topics (vacations, birthdays, a sensational movie, a recently opened store, etc.), demonstratively become silent in her presence, as a result of which the victim feels isolated;

- almost every mobbing situation is associated with the spread of various rumors about the victim, including of a sexual nature, often completely ridiculous, while no one accepts the victim's explanation;

- they constantly make fun of the victim and not always “kindly”. For example, poured coffee is an important document with which the victim worked, hidden personal belongings, salt in tea, etc. Sometimes another "joke" is discussed and prepared by a whole group;

- A situation of indirect forms of sexual harassment is created around the victim: they give indecent signs (they look at the body for a long time, send kisses, inviting winks, etc.); comment on the victim's appearance, clothing and body; make compliments of erotic content, throw up erotic photos or pictures, etc.

What is harassment and how does it manifest itself?

Harassment - This term most often refers to sexual harassment. It includes explicit sexual claims, and hidden, veiled (hints), and even indirect (when your condition worsens due to the fact that you are a witness to the manifestation of harassment to a colleague). You can recognize a harassment situation in the following cases:

- harassment can take the form of mobbing, when various kinds of sexual provocations are specially organized and aimed at surviving someone from the collective;

- gender insults, who thinks “by what body” and what “through what place” does, how and what he achieves (through bed), etc.;

- obscene jokes, comments, compliments of a sexual nature;

- direct or indirect calls for privacy in the smoking room / kitchen / toilet, dinners flowing into breakfast, etc.;

- proposals to solve work issues through trips to the country, trips to a restaurant, etc.;

- promises of promotion or transfer to other positions in exchange for services of a sexual nature, both covertly and directly;

- coercion to have sex or inducement to change the appearance (makeup, clothes, hairstyle) for a more sexy one through the threat of demotion, transfer or dismissal;

- unregulated touches, including pressing in an elevator, transport, stroking hands, shoulders, etc.

What can be done in a mobbing situation:

- to admit that what is happening is reality, and not a figment of the imagination, and does not happen because you are somehow not like that, but because in one form or another these phenomena are present in any team and almost every "newcomer" is exposed to them, " individualist "or" promoter ";

- believe in yourself - remember what successes you managed to achieve in life, what difficulties you have successfully overcome; Build your self-esteem constantly and remember that many people, including your friends, family and colleagues from other departments, treat you positively;

- not make quick decisions, think if you have all the information, and who pushes you to make quick rash decisions, why should you make the decision? Do not dismiss "under the hot hand" if you are a manager and do not change the basic foundations of the department entrusted to you until you are sure that the proposed changes are clear to your subordinates;

- do not try to redo everything in your own way, if this is not your work task - first establish trusting relationships with colleagues, and then make suggestions, even if you are sure that your methods are very effective;

- find out what traditions are accepted in the team - how it is customary to contact each other, the management, submit reports, who communicates with whom, goes to dinner or jumps out to smoke, who they turn to for help, who they ask for advice, what they do when they are late for work whether it is customary to linger after work, use the phone for personal purposes, etc.;

- remember that not every remark or harsh statement in your address means that you are being “bullied”, perhaps you are exaggerating the scale, and a look from an uninterested person will be useful to you.

- find colleagues who are not involved in mobbing against you, and start solving work issues with their help, in particular, ask them to provide important information in a timely manner and in full, etc.;

- do not succumb to "repression" - behave confidently and focus on work, soon interest in you will disappear, in more difficult situations, seek help from an independent party.

What you can do in a harassment situation:

Despite the fact that in the field of sexual harassment there is a constant debate about who is right and who is wrong, it is important to take into account that, for the most part, the mentality of people from the post-Soviet space pushes us towards a stereotypical interpretation of gender relations. This applies both to men, who can see a sexual appeal in anything and respond to refusal with the formula “if a woman said NO, it means YES”, and to women who are used to flirting at work and giving ambiguous hints (which is also abroad harassment and may be a pretext for legal proceedings). Therefore, before a moral reassessment of values takes place in our country and the legislative framework sets clear boundaries for the acceptable relationship of each of the parties, it is important to adhere to a business style and remember that an office is a place, first of all, for work.

If you suspect that actions are being taken against you that fall under the interpretation of sexual harassment, it is advisable to involve an uninterested party who will help to objectively assess the situation and suggest ways to correct it if necessary. This side can be your company's organizational psychologist (HR specialist), the head of a union, or a specialist outside the organization.

If your suspicions have been confirmed (or if the harassment is so frank that you don't need to confirm anything), before contacting your superiors, the court or attracting someone close to you for help, it is advisable to talk directly with the person who somehow “terrorizes” you. Otherwise, it can provoke a situation of fierce mobbing against you, while the authorities will understand and make a decision.

So that the other person does not perceive your conversation as a “touchy game”, you should state your thoughts clearly and concisely, for example: “I regard your behavior as harassment, if you do not stop doing … take legal action against a company that does not protect its employees from workplace harassment. In the case of indirect harassment, such a conversation can clarify the fact that both parties misunderstood each other, and now they can dot the i's.

The conversation can lead to a temporary lull in order to turn the situation against you. Therefore, at the first suspicion, do not hesitate to talk it over with relatives, friends, ask colleagues if anyone else is being harassed in your department, record information with hidden messages in social networks and save documents that indicate your visits to the doctor (incl. psychotherapist) and deterioration of health.

If for some reason you slander a colleague, remember that "everything hidden becomes apparent." The real situation opens up quite quickly, and the person you accused will become a victim, and you are an aggressor and a rapist, whom promising and interesting companies are unlikely to want to hire. In the world of information technology, it is quite difficult to hide information about intrigues, the organization of frauds and meanness.

One way or another, when exposed to mobbing or harassment, it is important to understand that this is not a problem that can be ignored and tolerated in order to keep a job. Unfortunately, sooner or later, the constant stress that accumulates from day to day develops into psychosomatic disorders and diseases. On the one hand, this can serve as evidence of bullying and help represent your interests in court. On the other hand, this is what suggests that the situation is too neglected to continue to be ignored. In the next post, I will describe the most common disorders and illnesses that occur in "office workers" who are under constant stress in the workplace.

Written for Thedevochki magazine (thedevochki.com)

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