Inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and how to deal with it

 

 

We had recently found ourselves in the midst of a smaller female team. Three female operators recruited a new female colleague into their well-established and close-knit team. At first, everything seemed fine, showing no signs of inappropriate behaviour. Unfortunately for the rookie on the team, the situation took a turn for the worse during the probation period and there was some friction in the team.  

 

The close-knit team started pushing the new colleague away and since the lady (let’s call her Marie) wasn’t onboard with their kind of behaviour and humour, a problem began brewing. The friction was getting worse. Marie started closing herself off and completely stopped communicating with the team. This kept worrying her and she ended up distancing herself from her colleagues.  

 

On the contrary, her colleagues couldn’t understand why she was being so cold and kept why she kept her distance. So, the gap kept on growing until Marie couldn’t take it anymore and confided in her boss because she felt helpless but wanted to stay in the company. Fortunately, her boss was very empathetic and dealt with the situation. He enlisted the help of an HR specialist and carefully and thoughtfully listened to Marie’s story once more. Since there are two sides to every story, the boss was left with no other choice than to get the conversation rolling with the three other dynamic colleagues.  

 

This led to open communication, emotions and tears, but it also resulted in apologies. Fortunately, they all came together to fix to problem. They agreed to start off fresh and in a friendly atmosphere. So, this tale, or the short version of it, had a happy ending and the team moved on with greater mutual consideration and respect. 

Such troubling times makes one wonder where Marie could find support. How does the law deal with such issues? Yes, the law deals with such issues but it can be confusing. The Labour Code uses the term: “good morals” several times. For example, Act (§) 13(5) reads: “Employers undertake to create and develop working relations in accordance to the law, in accordance with other legal regulations and in accordance with good morals.” However, the definition of good morals is somewhat complex. Therefore, one has to follow his intuition and feelings in a given situation.

 

 

The atmosphere in the workplace is one of the most important aspects of high performance and overall employee satisfaction. However, it can either be disrupted by the employer or by the colleagues. It’s one thing if your supervisor assigns a task, which falls into your specialization and is intended for you. However, you should be more cautions if your boss gives you meaningless tasks, is constantly criticizing your work, is criticizing you across other departments or is humiliating you in the team. This is unacceptable and this kind of behaviour can be identified as beyond the boundaries of work ethics. We, as external HR professionals and recruiters, have even personally witnessed this kind of behaviour at one of our clients in the past. The situation had left a noticeable imprint on us. As a result, future background checks of our potential clients and cooperation will be more thorough. This is also practical advice for other job seekers. Do background checks on your future employer. Thanks to the internet, we now have all the information available at our fingertips. For example, Atmoskop offers references from real employees from different companies. 

 

Obviously, if your work results are unacceptable, you violate the Code of Conduct, don’t do the tasks that your supervisors have assigned or don’t come to work as you should, then that’s a different story. Such cases deserve criticism, where criticism is due. But that’s a different issue. 

 

 

Mobbing can be translated into Czech as making someone’s stay at work unpleasant or as bullying on the workplace. Mobbing is singling out an individual, not taking the individual’s opinion into consideration or ridiculing him. Mobbing includes forcing the groups’ opinions onto the singled-out individual or spreading lies about the individual. Sometimes, it may range from psychological aggression to physical abuse.  

 

Bossing is a form of bullying on the workplace. Bossing is when your supervisor exhibits unpleasant behaviour. It can manifest itself as psychological pressure, making it impossible for the employee to work well. This behaviour oftentimes escalates and may even cause a psychological breakdown. 

 

• Unauthorized criticism of all your work

• Offensive and arrogant behaviour towards subordinates 

• Ridicule and humiliation 

• Inadequately checking your work or work time

• Requirements to do overly complex tasks 

• Overlooking the opinions of subordinates  

• Threats or even sexual harassment

 

The employer has to ensure a pleasant work environment. Therefore, first try to resolve your feelings with him, immediately after sharing your problems with your relatives and loved ones. Some companies have a Code of Ethics that employees have to follow. Therefore, refer to this document to seek supporting arguments. Nowadays, many large corporations also have an Ethics help line that employees can use. If the employer fails to show interest in your matter, contact the HR department or the Unions. The worst-case scenario is when the employee has no other choice but to resolve the issue with the Labour Inspectorate or the courts.  

Even so, there is a very fine line between what is considered inappropriate behaviour and what is considered bullying. Everyone reacts differently to sensitive issues just as everyone responds differently to various stimuli from other colleagues.  

In conclusion to this sad topic, we’d like to add that you should not keep problems to yourself. If you don’t feel safe sharing your worries in your group, speak to an HR specialist. You are never alone and there is always a solution. We hope you never have to deal with this situation. We hope you have a great job with wonderful colleagues.