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If you or someone you know is experiencing high levels of stress related to harmful dynamics and harassment at work, you may be the target of mobbing.
Mobbing, or workplace psychological harassment, is a type of violence that can be practiced intentionally or repeatedly and is prolonged by one or more people against one or more individuals in the work environment.
It is an increasingly frequent phenomenon that affects productivity and deteriorates the mental health of workers who experience it.
Mobbing may not be easy to identify as it creates a smokescreen that makes it difficult to identify the forms of bullying and the real culprits behind it.
Workplace harassment has many faces. It varies depending on whether the harasser is your boss, a subordinate, a co-worker, or a bit of everything.
If you are a victim of mobbing, you may have experienced some of the following forms of harassment:
By spreading lies or making false accusations, the harasser or harassers seek to damage the reputation of the victim and encourage rejection by other workers.
A harasser can undermine their victim's credibility and autonomy by making them appear mentally ill, suggesting that they suffer from some condition that makes them incapable or that their attempts to defend themselves stem from some delusion of persecution and not from reality.
A harasser may humiliate his victim in public, for example by devaluing his work, exaggerating his mistakes or making negative comments related to his race, gender, nationality or religion.
The inadequate distribution of the workload is also a form of harassment. You may note that you are assigned more responsibilities than your peers, or that these do not correspond to your actual qualifications or the functions of your position (too easy or not interesting tasks).
It is common when the harassers are subordinates. They can sabotage a boss's attempts to improve aspects of the company or make changes implemented during her tenure look negative.
The harasser or harassers can favor the isolation of the victim by encouraging other people not to interact with the person or by interfering with existing communication channels. They may avoid eye contact as a way to make the victim feel invisible or assign them a separate workplace.
This form of harassment can be seen as a boss who continually threatens to fire you, calls you outside of office hours or pores over your work for flaws that justify the idea they have sold of you to others.
Criticizing absolutely everything the victim does, both in the performance of their duties and in personal aspects such as the way they dress, talk, laugh, walk, etc.
All of these actions escalate to the point that they can be perceived as normal by many of the people around the victim. Those who detect it as inappropriate often remain silent for fear of becoming the next target of the harasser.
You may be wondering how this problem becomes normalized by an entire work team.
Well, mobbing takes place in work environments with certain weak points that make them more vulnerable. Let's talk about some of them.
Leadership is one of the most important aspects of maintaining a healthy work environment.
Workplace harassment usually occurs in places where the leader or boss has characteristics that interfere with the achievement of objectives. They may be easily influenced, seek to keep everyone happy and lose sight of the company's hierarchies and objectives. In this case, micro-leaders emerge, including bullies.
In other cases, they are people who do not know how to delegate or who lead a team based on violence and not based on the recognition of each one's abilities. The effect is an aggressive and unmotivated team where harassment appears as a work dynamic.
The leader is also responsible for establishing a policy against workplace harassment that makes clear the position of the company against such behaviors. The solution or prolongation of the problem depends on their attitude towards the problem.
Organizational culture is the set of values, norms and beliefs that govern the operation of a company. Thus, a company can be characterized by inclusion, teamwork, healthy competition among different teams, respect for diversity and clear communication as a way of resolving conflicts.
If the above does not sound like your work environment, then your workplace is prompt to normalize workplace harassment.
In addition to the money we receive for the work we do, there is what is called emotional salary. When the work environment, the functions assigned to us, the growth within the company and the recognition we receive do not correspond to our expectations, the feeling of being stuck arises and with it, the lack of motivation.
These factors favor the continuity of workplace harassment due to the lack of interest of workers to do something about it.
These factors are related to feeling stuck and unmotivated, but also to the absence of a leader who promotes the fulfillment of the workers' duties. How do these influence the appearance of situations of psychological harassment at work?
Generally, the victims of mobbing are the most responsible, committed, ethical, best trained and most efficient workers in the work team. Workers who comply with work hours and are committed to the company inadvertently expose less efficient workers who in response resort to workplace harassment.
Here, mobbing is a counterattack, since the harasser perceives the victim's actions as a threat to their own job security.
Less frequently absenteeism is the consequence; the victim may avoid going to work due to discomfort generated by the workplace.
Previously we mentioned the profile of the victim of mobbing; now let's talk about the profile of the harasser.
If you or someone you know is being mobbed, it is important that you know what actions you can take in this situation.
They are not your friend - avoid sharing personal information or appearing too nice. Try to be punctual and concise.
Try not to show that their actions cause you harm, even if it is so, do not allow the harasser to see it.
Workplace harassment is the reflection of the problems of an insecure and unqualified person. It is not about you, but about their way of dealing with their shortcomings.
This is very important when reporting the harasser.
Make sure you spend quality time with your loved ones. This will help maintain your mental health, despite the circumstances at work. You can also look for support groups to share your experience and learn from other people who are going through the same situation.
Workplace psychological harassment is a crime and must be reported. In the first instance, to your company's occupational risk prevention office, who should take action to correct the situation. If this does not work, you can go to legal instances and report the harasser.
Keeping silent in a workplace bullying situation is a form of complicity and only makes the problem worse. Perhaps today it does not directly affect you, but if measures are not taken to correct it, you could be next.
Mobbing damages the mental health of those who suffer it, and can trigger mental health disorders that are difficult to treat. In fact, workers who experience situations of workplace bullying are more likely to develop:
Psychological bullying affects self-esteem. Eventually the victim believes that it is true that she is not doing anything right or that there is something wrong with her.
In the long run, the effects of mobbing also affect the relationships of couples, friends and family of the victims. That is why it is essential to seek the help of a mental health professional with training in dealing with this type of problem.
The specialist will help you regain confidence in yourself and overcome the health conditions that have occurred.
Finally, if the problem persists and the company does not take the corrective measures, evaluate how important it is for you to remain in that job. If you want to stay, at what cost?
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