Countering bullying is the responsibility of every company

Intimidated, with low self-esteem and perpetually stressed - this is the most common image of employees who experience psychological violence in the professional environment. Often, many of them do not even realize that they are victims of bullying.

Conflict at work is not hard to come by, all it takes is an innocent, unresolved problem in a timely manner and an improper division of duties or flow of information in the company. The phenomenon of employee harassment can happen anywhere, no matter if you are a receptionist, forklift operator or manager in a large company. It manifests itself in many ways, so it is sometimes difficult to properly assess whether a particular behavior or action bears the hallmarks of psychological violence or is, for example, a violation of personal rights. According to the definition of the Labor Code, mobbing is defined as actions or behaviors concerning or directed against an employee that consist of persistent and prolonged harassment or intimidation. Their purpose may be to humiliate, ridicule the employee, isolate or eliminate him from the team. The fact that we are dealing with mobbing may be evidenced by the repetition of certain behaviors, long duration and negative intentions of the perpetrator.

Many forms of employee harassment

Examples of psychological harassment can be multiplied, as bullying has many faces, depending on the purpose for which it is used. It can serve, for example, to hinder communication, in which case it usually involves a superior or colleagues restricting one's freedom of speech, constant criticism of one's work or private life, preventing contact through demeaning looks and gestures or threats. Another type is behavior that disrupts social relations. They most often manifest themselves in the supervisor's avoidance of conversations with the subordinate, ignoring or moving him to a place away from his colleagues. On the other hand, actions aimed at disrupting a person's social perception include expressing badly about the employee, spreading rumors about him, making attempts to ridicule or parodying the way he walks, talks or gestures. Bullying also includes all kinds of actions that negatively affect an employee's living and working situation. These can include delegating work that is meaningless or that is below or above the employee's competence. Still another manifestation of bullying is behavior that has a detrimental effect on the victim's health and so forcing him to perform work that is harmful to his health, threatening him or using physical violence against him. Sometimes employees are unable to recognize whether a particular behavior is bullying. Often, due to the repetitive nature of the situation, they perceive it as the norm and a necessary evil. However, it should be borne in mind that according to the interpretation of the Supreme Court, reprehensible behavior that occurs on a daily basis at a given employer and is a kind of norm in the company or part of the organizational culture (as perverse as it may sound) does not preclude its recognition as harassment or intimidation within the meaning of the Labor Code.

The effects of bullying

Employees exposed to bullying often experience lowered self-esteem and associated anxiety and guilt. Other effects include insomnia, impaired concentration, anxiety or even depression. It is not uncommon to develop somatic reactions to stress, such as headaches, abdominal pain, which can lead to various diseases, such as peptic ulcer disease, heart attack or stroke. It's not only workers who suffer, but also companies. Staff who are subjected to long-term psychological abuse work inefficiently and are more likely to take short vacations, which increases the cost of benefits to the employer. Another negative effect is the phenomenon of employee turnover, as employees can no longer withstand the effects of harassment and aggression in the workplace, and it is necessary to rehire new people, which requires the expenditure of time and money. It is also disadvantageous when injured workers file compensation claims. Then, in the event of a loss, the employer must face the need to finance damages or trial costs, but not only that. Equally important is the company's reputation. No one doubts anymore that a good image is one of the basic forces determining the development and position of a company in the market. A company that has been proven to have used bullying will find it hard not only to attract new employees, but also unlikely that other companies will want to cooperate with a company that does not care about its employees.

First to counter, second to help

According to the Labor Code, preventing bullying and assisting its victims are among the primary responsibilities of employers, regardless of their financial or organizational capabilities. It is recommended that, as part of a prevention policy and to minimize the risk of compensation, employers, especially in companies with an extensive organizational structure, implement special anti-bullying programs more frequently. It is important that they cover three areas: - Internal procedure - separate regulations detailing undesirable behavior, how to report it to the employer and the rules and course of the investigation. - Management and employee training and other outreach activities - Regular monitoring of the scale of undesirable behavior in the work environment, e.g., in the form of periodic audits or anonymous surveys; It is important for the victim to know what to do if she finds herself in such a situation. Above all, she must realize that the burden of proving bullying lies with the employee. However, before an employee decides to file a lawsuit in court, he should take steps to document reprehensible situations or behavior in the workplace. For example, one can take notes of each reprehensible behavior of the bully, the names of the people who behave in this way, the dates and details of their behavior. Evidence can also be e-mails, letters, text messages, recordings on a dictaphone or camera of conversations, meetings and collected L4 leave. In court proceedings, the victim has the option of requesting that specific people be interviewed as witnesses. In practice, however, there may be few of them, especially if they still work for the company. Often, however, witnesses in Labor Court are former employees. In addition, the victim can file formal complaints with the bully's superiors, trade unions or other authorities or institutions (e.g., anti-bullying associations) or collect certificates issued by them. It is also the employer's responsibility to assist the affected employees. First and foremost, victims of psychological terror must have the opportunity to file a complaint in a way that ensures their confidentiality and sense of security. The employer should also isolate the victim from the perpetrator by allowing, for example, a change of occupancy. When the perpetrator is the employee's supervisor, it is often even necessary to transfer the employee to another workplace. However, it is unacceptable in this situation for the employer to offer the victim a notice changing working conditions to less favorable ones, as this would be an additional inconvenience for the victim of bullying. However, the situation cannot be ruled out if the employee agrees and even himself proposes to move to a job with worse conditions by mutual agreement. If the employer cannot provide the employee with another job, it is not permissible to terminate the employee's employment contract for this reason. The employer, on the other hand, has every right to transfer to an inferior position or even fire the perpetrator of bullying. Employees who have experienced bullying can claim two types of independent monetary benefits from the employer. If the victim suffered a health disorder, confirmed by a doctor or psychologist, he can seek compensation for the harm suffered. Its amount depends on the decision of the court and, importantly, there is no specified upper limit. The second benefit is compensation due in the case of termination of an employee's employment contract due to mobbing. In this situation, the victim can count on at least the minimum wage, also without an upper limit.

Author:

Dorota Strzelec