▷ 14 Types of Workplace Harassment

workplace bullying or mobbing, is a unjustified harassing conduct which often occurs in any workplace, physically and emotionally affected workers and the way they function in their work environment.

This behavior creates a tension and stress situation that prevents cooperation and efficiency in work teams, therefore, learning to identify a case of workplace harassment is essential for both companies and workers.

On many occasions we can be victims of workplace harassment without even being aware of it, since There may be many types of workplace harassment according to the characteristics of each circumstance, but, What are the types of workplace bullying and how to identify them?

In this post, we will explain what the 4 existing types of workplace harassment are based on different modalities or classifications.

Types of workplace harassment according to hierarchical position

This type of harassment is the one that occurs according to the hierarchical order that the harasser occupies in the company, abusing their position to commit acts of harassment towards other employees, being able to find three types:

Horizontal workplace harassment:

In this case, the harassment occurs between colleagues in the same work department; therefore, the harasser and the victim occupy the same hierarchical position, generally occurs when the harasser wants to create preferential treatment or superiority, generating harassment towards his colleagues.

Workplace harassment descendant:

It shows up when the harasser occupies a higher hierarchical position than the victim, being the case of a boss towards an employee, are usually common cases in companies when the harasser does not know how to lead his subordinates.

Upward workplace bullying:

It happens when the harasser occupies a lower hierarchical position in charge of his victim, it can occur when the subordinates want the boss in charge to be replaced, causing an environment of harassment towards his superior to the point of causing him to resign.

Types of workplace harassment according to the motive of the harasser

Harassment is influenced by the motives of the harasser such as way to justify his behavior towards his victim, even when workplace harassment is an erroneous and unfair way to achieve its purpose; In this sense, four types of workplace harassment can be identified, which are:

Strategic Workplace Harassment:

It is a measure implemented by the harasser in order to for the victim to leave his or her job at your own expense; when this strategy is implemented by superior positions, it is implemented as a measure to avoid the payment of compensation for unjustified dismissal, although workplace harassment by strategy can be implemented from any position hierarchical

Disciplinary Workplace Harassment:

This form of mobbing is used as a punishment measure by the harasser when the victim does not want to submit to her will, applying acts of harassment in retaliation, which creates an environment of fear in the workplace; This is usually associated with a lack of assertive communication between work teams.

Workplace harassment for exploitation:

It occurs when at the organization level there is a search on exploiting the performance of workers, forcing them to work with overloads of tasks and hours of work, generating an environment of labor slavery, because as the company grows, the payroll of workers does not increase in the same way.

Discriminatory Workplace Harassment:

It is a type of harassment that is motivated for personal reasons other than work, in which the harasser generates discrimination towards his victim and co-worker, due to their color of skin, nationality, religion, social condition, political ideology or physical disability, among others terms.

Types of workplace harassment according to the degree of violence

Regardless of the circumstances in which an act of mobbing, This creates a situation of violence that negatively affects the integrity of the victim and with it the development in their environment, both at work and personal level, being able to be harassment with physical or psychological violence or even both.

Workplace harassment with physical violence:

This type of harassment at work is higher gravity, which can include from hits until sexual assault, causing physical trauma to the victim.

Workplace harassment with psychological violence:

It is the most common form of mobbing, Well, it's one verbal aggression that attacks the integrity of the worker, affecting your self-esteem, belittling his work and questioning his job skills.

Workplace harassment with physical and psychological violence:

It occurs when a negative physical and psychological affectation, well both can occur simultaneously; even when there is no direct physical aggression if it can generate a indirect physical involvement on the victim as secondary effects of psychological violence, such as stress, sleep disorders, anxiety, lack of appetite and depression.

Types of workplace harassment according to the modus operandi

For a harasser to achieve his task of mobbing towards his victim, he can use different means to suppress the labor and personal integrity of the worker, for this, according to his modus operandi, he can use the following types of harassment:

Work overload:

It is one of the most common cases of harassment, in which the victim is assigned excess work obligations beyond their capacities and obligations.

Professional defamation:

It happens when belittles the work of the victim before third parties, defaming him inside and outside the company, negatively affecting his professional and personal reputation.

Blame the worker:

It happens when the victim is generated a reproach of guilt about situations outside the worker, such as the low profitability of the company, a situation where the harasser seeks to blame the victim for the failures of others or for the harasser's own failures.

Instill fear:

Some people infuse fear as a wrong way to gain respect from subordinates, imposing an attitude of authority based on constant threats and calls for attention in a hostile manner without just cause; They have unconsciously become workplace harassers unable to recognize the negative consequences on the victim and the work environment.