What Is Psychological Harassment
What is psychological harassment? It is repeated conduct directed at a person’s confidence, standing or sense of competence rather than at their body.
It works through accumulation. Persistent criticism, often in front of others. Setting someone up to fail with impossible deadlines or missing information. Removing responsibilities without explanation. Excluding them from decisions and conversations. Undermining their work to colleagues. Denying things that were said.
The last of those is why it goes unreported for so long. When each incident is small and deniable, the affected person starts doubting their own account, and by the time they raise it they cannot describe a single event serious enough to sound convincing.
Australian law addresses this primarily as bullying and as a psychosocial hazard, rather than under the name psychological harassment.
Safe Work Australia sets out the psychosocial duty. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.
See Sentrient’s psychological safety course and workplace bullying course.
How To Identify, Prevent, And Respond To Psychological Harassment In The Workplace
Quick Answer Psychological harassment in the workplace is behaviour, usually repeated, that harms a person’s mental wellbeing, dignity or sense of safety, such as intimidation, insults, exclusion or sabotage. To identify it, look for a pattern that goes beyond reasonable management action. Employers must prevent it as a psychosocial hazard under WHS laws. If it […]
What Is Psychological Abuse In The Workplace?
A Practical, Human Guide to Understanding, Spotting & Stopping It Quick Answer Psychological abuse in the workplace, sometimes called emotional abuse at work, is behaviour that harms a worker’s mental health, dignity or sense of safety. Common examples are humiliation, intimidation, gaslighting, deliberate exclusion and sabotage. In Australia it is usually dealt with as bullying, […]
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