We are accustomed to workplace discussions and interventions that encourage and support physical safety. With the #MeToo revolution, there was also a demand that gender-based safety be taken into account to a greater extent, and any kind of behavior and speech that creates subversive or negative situations or effects for individuals depending on their gender is gradually being addressed.
At the same time, the demand for mental safety has increased significantly.
The debate about the effects of negative situations and experiences grows every year. Information on resolving any kind of trauma that individuals may experience in life can be found from service providers as well as social media, and many people spend enormous amounts of time and money on third parties in order to strengthen themselves mentally and emotionally.
Preventive interventions against potentially traumatic and stressful situations and events have also become common. According to Icelandic law no. 46/1980 on facilities, hygiene and safety in the workplace, the employer must make a written plan for safety and health in the workplace, and this plan should include a risk assessment and an action plan in the event of workplace abuse.
According to Icelandic regulation no. 1009/2015 on actions against bullying, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and violence in the workplace, the employer must also reduce all possible situations that could possibly lead to any kind of violence, and if a situation arises where violence is observed in the workplace, the employer must also respond as soon as possible after receiving a complaint or tip about the matter.
In the Icelandic labor market, you can find a multitude of policies and procedures with most employers that encourage and promote a positive workplace culture. According to this, the physical and mental health of employees should always be a priority for all employers, and any form of violence, bullying and harassment should be dealt with immediately.
Do employees have to worry about abuse in the workplace?
According to Icelandic regulation 1009/2015, the employer is not allowed to bully employees at the workplace, and the employer must also make sure that any kind of abuse is not allowed to take place at the workplace. Whether the manager themself is showing abusive behavior, or allows others to show such behavior under the manager's protection, it is the employer's responsibility to eradicate it. Furthermore, it is the employer who is responsible for responding quickly if a complaint or suggestion regarding abuse is received.
This shows the problem that exists in the Icelandic labor market when it comes to abusive behavior and its resolution, and the shortcomings that laws and regulations set up for general employees.
When the employer themself is responsible for, or allows, abuse in the workplace, there is no way for general employees to get a positive resolution of their issues because the employer will not intervene in their own negative behavior. Employees of an employer who allows a culture of abuse to flourish are condemned to accept the degrading conditions, participate in them themselves, or withdraw from their job.
The impact of a culture of violence on mental health
We don't care about our mental health the way we do about our physical health. We notice if we suddenly develop a runny nose or fever, if pain begins to develop, or if a visible rash appears. Monitoring mental health is more complex, as we need to know the baseline of our behavior in order to better assess changes in our emotions and mental health. Changes can be small, and happen over a long period of time, so it is difficult to realize that our health is deteriorating if we constantly think about our emotions and mental health from the present.
A good habit is to keep a short diary of our feelings and mental well-being. There an individual can register e.g. feeling when the person wakes up, the feeling that arises when thinking about certain events, situations, or persons, as well as a change in feeling during the day and the things that seem to have caused those changes. It is good to monitor changes in e.g.:
- Self image
- Mood and it's management
- Emotions, mood swings or numbness
- Communication and behavior towards other individuals
- Opinions and decisions
- thoughts regarding interests and hobbies
- Concentration
- Sleeping habits
Note that gradual changes in what is called "norm" should be sought here. Emotions and mental health are not a constant, but are constantly changing and fluctuating. It is therefore important to keep in mind that gradual negative changes are those that should raise a red flag.
Changes in behavior and well-being can also occur due to many reasons, and it is therefore important not to make a decision about what caused it, but to seek the help of a professional who helps both in resolving the symptoms and the problem itself.
When is enough, enough?
Abusive behavior never has an excuse, and a negative and disruptive workplace culture is in itself something that all staff should avoid being a part of. Unfortunately, life is not that simple for the vast majority of us and many of us are stuck in workplaces that gradually chip away at our mental and physical health with a negative and destructive culture of abuse, where the monthly paycheck is the anchor that holds us down.
Because of this, many of us stubbornly accept the situation, bite the bullet, and believe that with perseverance and ignoring the destructive workplace culture that prevails in the workplace, we will manage to get through the work day.
After all, this is just work, life is so much more than just work.
But the fact is that work affects us, well beyond the agreed working hours. Furthermore, a culture of abuse has enormous negative effects on our mental health which, if allowed to continue unabated, begins to reflect in our physical health.
Individuals often do not realize that negative situations are having a great effect on them, until their mental health has become so bad that their physical health begins to deteriorate.
If the situation is painted as burnout for the individual, the narrative becomes that the person pushed themselves too hard, that they were not strong enough, or did not have the ability to handle the situation. A person who has been gradually chiseled away by an abusive workplace culture is therefore made responsible for becoming exhausted by the situation.
In this way, it is all the fault of the individual, and not the negative and destructive culture of abuse that the person has had to fight with, often for months or years.
But the fault is not ours.
It is important that we decide when enough is enough, and demand that our boundaries are respected.
And in order to be able to stick to our boundaries, it is important to have good support from others and know all possible self-help.
Support from others
We in Iceland are lucky in the sense that we have a rich labor movement, where workers' rights are actively fought for. But the labor movement is bound by laws and customs, and support from there is more often than not only in the form of mental and written support towards victims, rather than actual actions and interventions, when it comes to workplace abuse. However, it is important to realize the value of that mental and written support. Abuse thrives in silence, and having a support network is a person's mainstay in getting out of a difficult situation.
It is also important to establish a good network. Within the workplace, there are individuals who are going through the same negative culture, who are potential witnesses to the events. Also outside the workplace, you can find former staff or service users who are familiar with the situation in question, may have witnessed it or have their own stories to tell about the situation, and can provide emotional and mental support through the situation. Similarly, it is worth pointing out that it is easier for a group to act against a culture of abuse in the workplace, while the individual risks being treated worse if the person tries to tackle the problem alone.
It is also important to do as much as possible to seek help from a neutral third party, either psychological or legal help, depending on what is appropriate in each case. Unfortunately, this is costly, and therefore a step that few people take. The employer's own rules regarding health or psychological support should be checked. You can also check with unions and what support they provide, as they often know about resources that people in general have not come across.
Self help
Unfortunately, the fact is that support is often scarce or not enough to fix the situation, and then it is important to decide when enough is enough and what steps to take to protect your own emotional, mental, and unfortunately often physical health when it comes to workplace abuse.
First of all, it is important to know your own rights in the labor market, so that you can keep track of all data and information about conditions at the workplace in an efficient and comprehensible manner. This also helps victims of abusive cultures to better understand situations, and to think clearly in situations that can act like a whirlwind for unaccustomed individuals.
Similarly, it is important that the individual maintains an up-to-date CV and is actively looking for a job. It is good to maintain communication with other people and build a network that could help to place the individual in a workplace with a more positive workplace culture.
It is good to keep in mind that the Icelandic labor market is entirely driven by employers, who label employees who engage in "job hopping" as poor workers or a "potential problem". This is a stereotype that needs to be eradicated, but a stereotype that unfortunately needs to be kept in mind when job interviews are attended. Questions about why you want to change jobs must be answered, and if you had a short stop at your previous workplace, the answers must be good and preferably entirely in favor of the employer.
Since we live in a small country, where information about individuals is transmitted quickly between people, active job hunting is unfortunately something that becomes known quickly between people, and a person who is oppressed by a negative workplace culture can therefore often have a more difficult time in the search. It is therefore understandable that individuals hold on to the hope that conditions at the workplace will improve, rather than conducting an effective job search, and thus risk retaliation at the current workplace. However, it is still important that the individual knows their own limits, and does not allow the debilitating conditions of the workplace to drive them out, but maintains effective communication with appropriate support, and gradually seeks support when it comes to building and implementing a way out of the situation before but it effects their mental and physical health too much.
And no matter what steps are taken, it is important not to take them alone.
In conclusion
A culture of abuse should never thrive in the workplace, and the slightest hint of a disruptive workplace culture should be enough to make employees think twice about staying in the workplace. But unfortunately, opportunities for new jobs are uneven, and sometimes simply not available. It is also important to know your limits, and to be clear about all possible solutions that help you get rid of the possibly health-damaging workplace culture.
But don't forget the necessary follow up after the situation. Individuals who come out of abusive situations need to realize the importance of reporting, talking about, pointing out, and shedding light on the circumstances that pushed the person out of their job.
Abusive situations trigger negative mental and emotional reactions, and although we do not perceive these reactions and do not begin to see physical symptoms immediately, victims of abuse need to gradually process the situation that was experienced. Discussing events and situations is one method that can be used to process the trauma that the destructive workplace had. It is a good idea to seek out a third party that uses step-by-step interview procedures so that we can get the best possible solution to our issues.
And if self-preservation isn't a good enough reason, it's worth remembering that abuse thrives in silence.
Not telling, not talking about, not pointing out the abuse, will always encourage further abusive behavior as the perpetrator got away with the abusive behavior without any problems. And when one victim gets out of the situation, another person will be chosen to be the next victim and the abuse continues.
It is therefore important that we discuss abusive situations and the methods that were used against us. It is important for everyone in the labor market that we come forward with our stories. If abuse thrives in silence, then our choice is to remain silent and allow further abuse, or speak up and fight for a non-abusive workplace culture.
Let's stand together against abuse in the labor market.
Article first appeared in Smartland 20.06.2023 [link].