The proportion of people working from home has increased significantly in the last ten years, according to data from the latest Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD Contínua). Excluding public servants and domestic workers, 8,3% of employed people in the country in 2023 carried out their activities directly from their homes. It is noted that the growth of this group, that was null between 2012 and 2016, jumped due to the pandemic, reaching 8,5% in 2022
Although it has lost some traction since the pandemic, the home office – or remote work – it is a model that is here to stay, it means that a series of adaptations have been implemented in companies to ensure the quality of work and the well-being of teams. However, working outside the office can raise some assumptions that do not necessarily correspond to reality. One of them is the idea that moral harassment does not happen at a distance. ⁇ Взагалі, people feel less fear of being held accountable and reprimanded in a virtual environment. This makes remote work vulnerable and just as prone to harassment as in-person work, points Alessandra Costa, psychologist and partner of theS2 Consulting, Brazilian reference in risk behavior management
Because it is a novelty for many people, it is not always easy to identify the signs of trouble in the remote environment. To raise this debate and bring more visibility to the issue, Alessandra selected some of the main behaviors that constitute workplace bullying in the home office, based on S2's data and experience in risk prevention and corporate investigation
- Invasive communication
The way communication has been established in a certain team must be respected by everyone. Коли, for example, there is the use of corporate numbers, sending messages or calling a colleague's personal number can be classified as problematic behavior
Exceptions can happen, but they should not infringe on anyone's privacy. Personal phones, social media and other ways of trying to force contact outside the company's channels can become a type of harassment, especially when there is insistence, inform the psychologist
- Excess of messages
Even when the correct channels are used, some moderation is still needed. We live in an era of great urgency and, from time to time, it is normal for a backlog of tasks and consequently information to occur. But the excess of messages and the demand for constant responses is an open door to anxiety, lack of prioritization and discomfort. People cannot work properly if they have to respond to someone all the time, and this can lead them to cases of burnout quickly, explain Alessandra
- Disrespect for the schedule
Any work model can involve overtime, but there is greater pressure to work outside the agreed hours when the environment is remote. Whether in the period before or after the correct time or even reducing the lunch break, this type of practice is classified as moral harassment
Alessandra points out: "Managers who demand attention outside of working hours are disrespecting the contract between the parties and pressuring employees, often claiming that it is 'just this once', but repeating the situation at other times. It is also necessary to stay alert for threats, veiled or not, to the professionals who refuse to respond or act outside of working hours
- Excessive control
The need to know everything that each employee is doing at all times is a problem that can arise in any environment, but it becomes more pronounced in the home office through monitoring tools and the demand for constant contact
This type of situation stems from a lack of trust and can develop in a way that complicates the entire team's coexistence, and even the quality of the business. On S2, we have seen cases of managers requiring the camera in online meetings because they do not believe that employees are busy, at the same moment, in meetings with the clients themselves, exemplifies the specialist
- Високий тиск
Коли є негативне попереднє уявлення про роботу дистанційно, деякі поведінки стають шкідливими. ⁇ Подумай, for example, у зустрічах ‘сюрприз ⁇, іноді навіть у першу хвилину дня або в моменти близько перерв для відпочинку. Якщо професіонал не з'яви незабаром, є менеджери які стверджують що це означає що він є ледачим або брехуном, можливо навіть напередодні решти команди. Це вид приниження, і безперечно налаштову переслідування ⁇, повідомля Alessandra
У всіх цих ситуаціях, може бути важко для жертв шукати допомогу, можливо, можливо з страху помсти., ганьба і вина акта стражданого, відсутність довіри в менеджмент і відсутність безпечних каналів для пошуку допомоги
Щоб гарантувати, що домагання тримається подалі від вашої компанії, віддалено або не, деякі підказки є істотними, як мати безпечний канал скарг та заохочувати його використання, мати прозору комунікацію з усією командою і мати код поведінки оновлений. ⁇ Також рекомендується розвивати тренінги та лекції щодо морального домагання, а також застосовувати тест цілісності для запобігання тому, щоб поведінки ризику навіть і не відбувалися ⁇, завершує Alessandra
