Workplace Abuse

Workplace abuse is a persistent pattern of treatment from others in the workplace that causes either physical or emotional harm. It includes verbal, non-verbal, psychological and physical abuse and can be done by the Manager/ co-worker / a group of people at work. Let’s find out to identify this cycle of abuse and how to deal with it. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/saumya-nigam-a5a71415_workplace-abuse-identify-address-activity-6985054725947699200-ig4Y?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAMhleYBMBFd7H66yP_RQ6NIcIJrDAFqiqQ

Rohan is a 38yrs old employee in an organisation as a Sales Manager. He joined the company with many expectations and to give the best of him. Initially, Rohan was happy with the profile, open, inclusive, flexible and supportive environment of the organisation.

However, after three months, his manager started giving him odd jobs including admin work like organising office parties, booking travel tickets etc. This pattern increased and he was not assigned the work for which he was hired and noticed that he was not given the tasks relevant to his job profile. Rohan started losing motivation to work and resulted in him making mistakes at even the simplest jobs assigned to him. He was insulted frequently in front of the team on some pretext or other, followed by in person make-up by the Manager. 

Rohan started experiencing anxiety and stress and tried to comply with the manager irrespective of the nature of work given to him. Due to anxiety the frequency of mistakes increased and so did the humiliations and apologies. His communication with colleagues was restricted and he was made to stay in the office for late hours.

Rohan was unable to identify that he is subject to workplace abuse. Later Rohan left the company on a bad note.

Workplace abuse can be social, verbal, emotional, sexual, or psychological & may be a significant contributing factor in  increasing resignations.While most of the companies cover Sexual Harassment, other forms of abuse often goes unacknowledged

Studies show that about 57% of the employees have quit job because of continued workplace abuse & bad managers. It has implications not only on the employee but on the organisation as well. 

Cycle of Abuse

Tension builds - stress begins to grow from the pressures of work life or other points of conflict. Victim may attempt to reduce the tension by complying the abuser.

Abusive incident - verbal, emotional, physical or sexual abuse occurs. It may include being shouted at in-front of colleagues to effect shame, blamed for problems caused by others, being constantly picked on etc.

Honeymoon phase - the employer/manager/co-worker apologises & often shower the victim with love & affection and asks for forgiveness. It is also promised that the abuse will never happen again.

Calm - the relationship enters a period of calm where the abuse stops or frequency reduces, including some positive gestures. These tend to reduce in sincerity over time.

The "Cycle of Abuse" diagram illustrates the recurring pattern of abusive behavior that includes phases of calm, tension building, abusive incidents, and a honeymoon phase, highlighting the potential for abuse at all hierarchical levels: downward, horizontal, upward, and mixed.

Consequences of workplace abuse –

• Feeling uneasy about going to work or throwing up due to nervousness associated with work.

• Taking frequent offs to recover from difficult experiences faced at work.

• Complaining about work while with family or friends or colleagues.

• Dealing with fatigue often, losing enthusiasm for their work.

• Low self-esteem combined with a feeling of uselessness and may result in loss of dignity and self-respect.

• Anxiety and stress or depression due to exposure to embarrassment

• In extreme cases, possible violence in the workplace or towards oneself (self-harm).

• Feeling uneasy about going to work or throwing up due to nervousness associated with work.

• Taking frequent offs to recover from difficult experiences faced at work.

• Complaining about work while with family or friends or colleagues.

• Dealing with fatigue often, losing enthusiasm for their work.

• Low self-esteem combined with a feeling of uselessness and may result in loss of dignity and self-respect.

• Anxiety and stress or depression due to exposure to embarrassment

• In extreme cases, possible violence in the workplace or towards oneself (self-harm).

Types of Possible Interventions

Individual

• Practice boundaries by respecting diverse views.

• Practice assertion

• If you feel uncomfortable in a situation try to understand what is wrong & take appropriate action to address that.

• Report the first incident to the HR / the departmental head.

• Maintain a log with date, time and details of bullying incidents you are facing. This will help in lodging a formal complaint.

• Seek counselling support to address the emotional distress.

Organisational

• Develop organisational policies which foster positive professional relationships

• Provide flexible environment to facilitate one’s style of work, meeting the organisational objectives.

• Disseminate organisational goals

• Develop employee leadership skills

• Organise programs & training to identify and manage these problems inside the organisation.

• Appoint in-house counselling support independent of the organisation.

It is imperative to address Workplace abuse at it hampers the productivity of employees and affects the Company performance. If left unaddressed, it can become the most important factor of separation/ barrier in becoming a Great Place to Work. 

In many cases, the Managers may also not directly/ indirectly understand that they can become a part of abuse and may invite unsolicited disciplinary action against them.  Regular counselling sessions may prevent such incidences in the company and help attain the company a Great Place to Work/ increase employee productivity.

References:

https://www.forbes.com/ 

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/ 

https://www.verywellmind.com/