Checklist: 7 signs that you have an unhealthy atmosphere at work

ALEXANDRA SAVINA

Speaking of bulling or cruel relationships in a team, it is customary to remember a school or a university. But aggression does not have age, and an adult can find that at work, where everything seemed to suit him, there was an atmosphere in which it was unbearable to be. Here are some signs that may be symptoms of a big problem, and not an ordinary conflict of colleagues or strict management.

Remember that in a situation where you are being bullied at the workplace, experts advise you not to withdraw into yourself, but to look for allies (it is very possible that what is happening does not suit you, not only), carefully document and collect evidence that you are being treated as unacceptable. in a way - they can be useful if you decide to deal with injustice by more serious methods. Do not be afraid to seek help - from psychological (WHO considers harassment to be a threat to physical and psychological health) to physical (for example, to talk with the personnel department or leader about the actions of colleagues). A detailed action plan can be found, for example, here.

Colleagues love hard "jokes"

One common form of bullying and harassment is "jokes" that seem ridiculous to only one side, and in fact violate the borders and humiliate the other person. Jokes are often referred to as a "gray zone", where everything seems to be possible, they just supposedly need a "sufficient sense of humor." In reality, a joke ceases to be harmless, when it becomes hard or bad for another because of it, when it humiliates and offends a person, when the person they are “joking” asks to stop, but others refuse to do so. Of course, no one is immune from an error and from offending others with a joke - the main thing is to be able to recognize it in time and stop when everything goes further than others would like. If cruel "jokes" or "pranks" in the office are repeated regularly, there is reason to think.

You are discussed all the time behind your back.

Gossip is much more common than you can imagine: according to some estimates, they can count from 60 to 90% of all conversations between people. For all their seeming harmlessness, they can also be an instrument of pressure and humiliation: let us say if the details of your personal life seem to be examined under a microscope or it seems to you that colleagues are discussing you at every corner and sneaking behind your back at every step or gesture This can be a bad symptom.

Criticism goes into bullying

We have long been saying that, contrary to popular belief, harsh criticism is not the most effective tool for development. Often it leads to the opposite result than the one you hope to achieve from you: instead of drawing useful conclusions, a person feels only insult and humiliation. Of course, an office is a space where it is impossible to completely do without criticism, and constructive comments (as well as feedback in general) are needed to set up workflows. The only question is how constructive in the company it is customary to talk about shortcomings in work. For example, if a manager knows only one way to tell subordinates about an error - to shout about what happened on the whole floor, incidentally insulting and humiliating them - most likely, we are not talking about useful criticism, no matter how valuable the comments may be in his eyes. Of course, situations are different, and sometimes the calmest person can get angry and not restrained - but the atmosphere of constant aggression is unlikely to be comfortable for work.

You are under stress all the time.

It is foolish to deny that many of us live in an environment of frequent (or even permanent) stress: this contributes to the rhythm of life, and the situation of big cities. Nevertheless, stress can be caused specifically by the situation in the office: if your thoughts about work are worrying you, fear or a sense of hopelessness, it may be worthwhile to more carefully assess the relationship with your colleagues. Take a closer look at not the most obvious signs of stress, like sleep problems, irritability, or persistent headaches. We do not call to engage in self-diagnosis (especially since these signs may indicate other conditions or be caused by completely different reasons), but it is definitely worth being attentive to yourself.

You feel excluded from the team

Another common form of harassment and bullying is isolation, such as a school boycott, when the victim is forced out of the group and forced to be left alone. Similar things can happen in adults. Yes, the cases are different, and the fact that someone does not “join” the team may be explained by something else: for example, for beginners, the first time may be lonely - or a particular person may not have common interests with his colleagues. But loneliness can be a sign of harassment, for example, when a person is deliberately excluded from common affairs or simply ignored. The American organization Workplace Bullying Institute, which is researching harassment at the workplace, points to another warning sign. If there is a person in your office who directly or indirectly prohibits others to communicate with others, it is possible that we are talking about something more ambitious than the “ordinary” conflict of colleagues.

Your complaints are ignored.

One of the common advice for those who decide to fight aggression in the workplace is to try to solve the issue officially by contacting the manager or the personnel department. Unfortunately, the reaction may be very different - for example, instead of dealing with a problem, HRP may advise "solve it between themselves", or your colleagues and the manager agree that what is happening is unacceptable, but they do not take any measures to change the situation and stop the aggression. The same applies to the reaction to specific requests - for example, if you ask to exclude your working interaction with the person who humiliates you and pair you with another colleague, but for some unknown reason you are denied, there is reason to think what is happening. Perhaps you should pay attention to other organizations where you will be treated more carefully.

You build obstacles in the work

One of the frequent signs of harassment (or at least an aggressive atmosphere) in the office is when the victim is intentionally prevented from working. For example, if she is not given the necessary information or is prevented from getting it herself (for example, forbidding to talk to someone from colleagues), overloaded with tasks (unless, of course, this is not about the usual level of pressure for such a post), give obviously impracticable or , meaningless tasks that have nothing to do with what a person actually does.

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