legal words
THE LINK BETWEEN HARASSMENT AND MENTAL
INJURY
In her book, Stalking the Soul, Dr. Marie-France Hirigoyen, a
French psychiatrist specializing in the psychology of harassment,
wrote, “Harassment is violence against the soul…Physical violence
can be testified to by outside evidence: eyewitness, police and medical
reports. With emotional abuse, there is no proof. It’s a clean
violence. No one sees anything.”
These acts of “clean violence” are frequently the complaint of
victims of workplace harassment. Mira*, a manager at a financial
institution, had a 10-year history of exceptional performance, until
a new leader was assigned to her group. At a team meeting, he
accused Mira of providing “sub-standard” work and reports. She
felt shocked and humiliated. In private when she challenged his demeaning
approach and asked him to provide specifics, he refused to
do so, saying, “Just do your job and shut up. Your performance is so
bad, you should think about resigning.”
In private meetings, he harshly micromanaged her and criticized
virtually everything she did. In public, he praised her. Mira
was experiencing “emotional abuse with no proof; clean violence
where no one sees anything.”
Mira recorded all the incidents with times, dates and witnesses,
and filed a formal complaint of harassment with her employer.
The employer told Mira that when they talked to her director, he
denied everything, and that she needed to find a way to work effectively
with him.
Dr. Stephanie Bot is chief psychologist at Dr. Stephanie Bot
and Associates and president of BizLife Solutions, a Torontobased
boutique workplace harassment resource and consulting
firm.
“The type of harassment Mira experienced is the covert subtle
abuse that erodes an employee’s sense of self, competency and
resilience,” said Bot.
In her private practice, Bot and her associates treat individuals
who have been bullied and harassed in their workplace.
“I frequently diagnose disorders that include PTSD, anxiety
disorders and depression where individuals develop a dread
of work and a sense of being trapped between wanting to sustain
their employment while their mental injury prevents them
from being able to do so.”
Bot says that when a person is unable to advocate for themselves
due to the circumstances of their employment, they will
develop symptoms of both physical and mental injury due to
ongoing stress that forces them out of the workplace.
“The organization and the bully-boss carry on and these employees
become casualties of a workplace that does not support
the psychological safety and mental health of its workers,” she
said.
AWARDS FOR MENTAL INJURY DUE TO
HARASSMENT
According to a report by the Mental Health Commission of
Canada, entitled Stress at Work, Mental Injury and the Law in
Canada, awards for damages caused by “mental injury” in the
workplace have soared 700 per cent since 2005. Legislation in
all provinces is becoming more stringent and awards for damages
are expected to escalate:
■■ In British Columbia, every employment contract states that
employers must ensure that employees work in a workplace
devoid of bullying.
■■ In Quebec, employers must establish procedures regarding
how they will deal with complaints and provide training for
workers to help them understand what constitutes vexatious
behaviour in the workplace.
■■ In Newfoundland and Labrador, employers are responsible for
ensuring a harassment-free workplace and must foster safety
Tiko Aramyan/Shutterstock.com
16 ❚ AUGUST 2017 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL