Mobbing or harassment at work is one of the most dangerous threats to a person’s psychological well-being and to the proper functioning of a company. For this reason, it is of vital importance to learn to recognize it, to assume the corporate responsibility to prevent it, and to provide our team with a clear action protocol that allows us to act as quickly as possible if a situation of this type occurs.
In this article, we are going to talk about the characteristics of this destructive behavioral pattern.
What is mobbing
Mobbing is a pattern of systematic harassment that takes place in a person’s work environment. It can occur between colleagues who belong to the same hierarchical level, it can be exercised by a manager against one of their subordinates or by subordinates against a certain superior.
In any case, mobbing or harassment at work is a crime, as it is extremely harmful to the physical and psychological health of the person who suffers it. It is also very harmful at a corporate level: it affects team cohesion, worsens team performance, greatly spoils the work environment, and has a very negative impact on the company’s internal reputation.
How to identify mobbing in the workplace?
In addition to knowing the protocol for action established by the HR department, all company employees should be familiar with some signs that, without being completely decisive, could indicate that they themselves or a colleague is suffering a situation of mobbing.
Signs that an employee is being harassed in the company
Some of these signs, observed systematically (not punctually), are the following:
-Attacks, negative insinuations, ridiculing, clearly rude interruptions when speaking.
-Repeated criticism of the victim when they are not present.
-Assignment of tasks that are not meaningful, dangerous, inappropriate, or that do not correspond to the position or functions theoretically assigned.
-Isolating, not taking the person into account, not notifying them of issues that concern them, or not including them in group activities.
-Significant changes in the employee’s mood, performance, and general attitude. Excessive reactions of alarm, susceptibility, refusal to interact with a particular colleague.
What to do if you witness mobbing?
The first thing to do is to begin to deal with its psychological and even physical effects so that they do not escalate and the employee’s health does not continue to deteriorate. This point is important because the longer an employee is harassed at work, the more difficult it is to mitigate its effects.
Procrastination is also more costly at the corporate level, especially if it is necessary to take time off work due to depression or other mental health problems caused by mobbing. That is why it is essential that the company is involved in the prevention of these situations.
Of course, it is also important to take measures aimed not only at reversing the symptomatology but also at putting an end to the events that are causing it. Given the nature of this situation, it may be difficult for the sufferer to take the first steps. However, it is crucial that the victim of mobbing or harassment at work informs their supervisor or the person responsible for the HR or occupational health of their company about what is happening. In some situations -especially in large companies- it may also be necessary to speak to the legal department and get advice on what action needs to be taken.
Throughout this process, it is important that the employee who is suffering from mobbing collects as much evidence as possible to support the investigation carried out by those in charge. Of particular relevance are conversations held through internal company channels and other apps, e-mails received by the harasser, and any other type of document or testimony that could be useful.
Preventing mobbing situations at work
At a corporate and health care level, the most efficient way to deal with situations such as mobbing is to prevent it before it occurs. To do this, the company must make explicit in its corporate culture and internal code of behavior what mobbing is, why harassment at work is not acceptable in the company and what a worker should do in case of suffering a situation of this type.
Therefore, there are many reasons for companies to take responsibility for both preventing, detecting, and tackling possible mobbing situations, including this issue in their human capital care strategy.
If HR managers do not know how to do this or are still unaware of the consequences for the company if a case of mobbing or workplace harassment occurs, they can turn to workplace well-being programs for companies such as the one designed by ifeel, which is already helping many organizations to protect their employees’ mental health.
Psychological well-being experts assisting businesses
Ifeel has developed an emotional well-being program for companies, designed by its team of leading psychologists with the aim of helping companies to place the care of the psychological well-being of their employees at the center of their corporate culture. This care includes preventing and addressing situations of mobbing, which are incompatible with a strategy aimed at boosting productivity sustainably.
Thanks to this partnership, HR managers can receive personalized, data-driven advice on how to prevent, detect and address workplace bullying situations within the teams they lead. This way, workers’ mental health is nurtured while preserving good conditions for optimal productivity. You can see for yourself how our program works with a simple click.
In addition, ifeel’s emotional well-being program for companies offers employees a mental health care service structured at different levels depending on what they need at any given time. Employees can access different mental health care tools with ifeel’s app. On a second level, they can receive emotional support through a chat with one of our platform’s licensed psychologists. If continuous help is needed over time, they can access the third level of the program: online psychological therapy with a psychologist specialized in cases like theirs.
We hope you found this article on mobbing interesting and, above all, useful for your psychological well-being at work. If this situation is affecting you in one way or another and you want to know more about our emotional well-being program for companies, contact us today.
You may also be interested in this post about mental well-being at work.
