“Adult” bullying: what to do if you are harassed at work

Features of the crime

According to labor legislation, in particular articles 101 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, all persons in the workplace have obligations in the form of communication within the framework of ethical standards of a corporate, professional, and social nature.
Also, the inadmissibility of insults in the form of humiliation of human dignity, regardless of his nation, faith and other characteristics, is prescribed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Important! Insulting a government official, such as a police officer, is subject to criminal law. In the usual version, the Code of Administrative Offenses is used (Article 5.61).

Any person who is higher or lower in the service hierarchy, as well as an outsider, can offend in the workplace. Identical measures will be applied to everyone in the same cases. The exception is officials, who also have an internal option for disciplinary sanctions, up to and including dismissal.

What is considered harassment in the workplace?

The humiliation of honor and dignity is considered an insult when a person is at work. Such an incident can negatively affect your credibility and career. The humiliation option can be different:

• using obscene language towards another person;
• offensive gestures;
• using the Internet or email to disseminate offensive information.

In the latter case, slander and ordinary humiliation are classified.

In judicial practice there are various proceedings in which the insult is not clear-cut. In such cases, all language norms are analyzed.

Concept and legal characteristics

According to Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offences, humiliation of honor is considered as a whole, that is, there is no focus on the official environment. Each option has certain characteristics of the legal type. List of circumstances that indicate an attempt at humiliation:

• the honor or dignity of an employee is deliberately humiliated;
• actions and words are obscene;
• there is a specific addressee.

In the latter case, it is worth considering that standard abuse, not addressed to a specific person, is not a specified offense, that is, it is impossible to bring such a citizen to justice under Article 5.61.

According to judicial practice, a violation is:

• expression with elements of obscenity or obscene content;
• comparative forms, for example, with an animal or plant;
• cynical or unwanted touching;
• obscene gestures;
• any movement that results in the victim's clothing being torn off or damaged.

The main point is the mandatory compliance with all norms by any persons, including strangers. It is also necessary to take into account that an offense against an employee who has a higher position has the same forms of punishment as humiliation of the dignity of persons who are lower in the service hierarchy.

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Article 5.61 of the Administrative Code

Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses is a specially created regulatory framework that regulates the liability of offensive actions of any nature. There are three elements of crime:

• in the form of general means the humiliation of one person by another verbally. To prove this, you will need to have a number of evidence or video and audio materials;
• publicity is expressed in public form. A crime can become public if there are two or more people nearby at the time the offense is committed. The same option includes the use of media;
• passive crime is the absence of action or inaction of persons in violation of this nature. An example would be the inaction of a manager when his subordinate or subordinates are humiliated.

Most often, the corpus delicti specified in the normative act requires the presence of an evidence base. It turns out that if there is no evidence, then it is impossible to attract a person who violates the rights of another person, since the fact of violation has not been proven.

Types of insult

According to the legislative framework, crime has two types, general or public. But in relation to work, there are various types of violations that manifest themselves in practice:

• violation by a colleague or colleagues;
• violation by management;
• violation by an outside party, such as a customer or client.

The fact itself may even be neutral, that is, the humiliation of a person will be carried out using literary speech and veiling. But even in this case, the person who violated the rights of another citizen may be held accountable.

Rules on this issue

The regulatory framework, which provides for the inadmissibility of violating the rights of a citizen, which is associated with humiliation of his honor and dignity, is expressed in several rules. They are spelled out in the following acts:

• Constitution of the Russian Federation (21 articles);
• Labor Code of the Russian Federation (indicating the need to form correct relationships using all ethical standards);
• Criminal Code (if the addressee is a representative of the authorities, for example, law enforcement agencies);
• Article 5.61 of the Administrative Code.

Important! When the honor of one or more persons is humiliated, the main legal act is the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Useful advice from psychologists

If you have become the object of ridicule from colleagues, then the first thing you need to do is collect your thoughts and stop panicking. You cannot give the offenders pleasure from the current situation, so it is important to pull yourself together and, in a calm atmosphere, consider further options for the development of events. It is worth noting that there is no difference in the position of your opponents - neither managers nor subordinates have the right to insult you. By following the following recommendations from professional psychologists, you will be able to correctly adjust your behavior and put in your place a boss or colleague who wants to laugh at your sense of dignity:

Try not to show your own emotions, so as not to satisfy the ego of the author of the prickly joke. You can stun him with a non-standard reaction to the words spoken - laugh with the others, start a conversation on a distant topic, or loudly refute the authenticity of the words spoken. Respond to a caustic joke with a counter-mockery that does not affect your opponent’s self-esteem. If a colleague joked about the smell of your perfume in front of the whole team, then note its value: “In Italy, prisoners are tortured with the help of my perfume. Do you want to try?". The arrogance of the culprit will fade, and the team will support you. If you do not want to get involved in a verbal altercation with a new offender who has chosen you as a target, publicly inform your colleagues about this. Why answer a person whose jokes were relevant in kindergarten? Entering into dialogue with kids from the nursery group is not your level, let your colleagues know about it. If you are no stranger to acting, then the role of a deaf and curious person is an effective way to discredit the offender. With a perplexed face, repeat the content of the caustic joke, repeating the procedure until the culprit gets tired of fulfilling your requests. Refer to your opponent’s diction or lack of humor in his statements so that the newly-minted “enemy” loses confidence in his own abilities. Object to the offender by compromising him with a counter joke or a caustic answer. Your unwillingness to put up with the current state of affairs is a powerful argument for colleagues, demonstrating a sense of your dignity. Next time, the team members will choose a weaker person for ridicule, leaving you alone.

The main recommendation of psychologists is to show your colleagues that you are a self-sufficient person who needs to be respected.

By following the simple advice of psychologists, you can change the current state of affairs. Colleagues will begin to respect you, no longer making cutting jokes and caustic ridicule. If you demonstrate your self-esteem to the people around you, the team will definitely appreciate such an act. You cannot bend to public opinion, turning a blind eye to conflicts at work - this is an irrational decision that leads to uncomfortable feelings in a person. If you don’t set a goal by adjusting your behavior, then after a short period of time only a psychotherapist can help you.

Procedure

If the honor or dignity of the individual is humiliated, the offender can be brought to administrative or criminal liability, as well as receive compensation for moral damage. Procedure:

• collection of evidence that will confirm the fact of insult. Audio or video files and witness statements are used as evidence. If there is information posted on social networks or the Internet, as well as sent by mail, scans of the specified pages will be required. If the violation occurred in a room with a security camera, you can take a video recording. It will be attached to the case file;
• drawing up a complaint or report indicating the date of the incident, as well as all data, including personal information about the offender;
• appealing to the court for compensation for moral damage, to the prosecutor's office for prosecution, or submitting a memo to senior management, if any, or to the trade union.

Important! To contact the trade union or the boss, a memo is sufficient. When applying to the court, a claim form must be completed according to the standard, and when applying to the authorities, it is necessary to fill out the application correctly.

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How to file a complaint?

The standard version of the application is used as a complaint. But in addition, you need to specify several mandatory points:

• the time frame of the offense, including the exact time and date. In case of systematic violations, it will also be necessary to indicate all recorded facts;
• details of the offender, that is, the official is indicated, as well as his personal information;
• the fact itself is written down. Fact means full disclosure of actions;
• request for accountability.

When going to court, a standard claim form is used. It is also important to fully evaluate the person's actions and provide specific facts about why their words or actions were offensive.

Where should I submit it?

Most organizations have a number of ethics rules, which allows you to file complaints with senior management when moral harm is caused by other employees, including those higher in position. Another two options are the courts; in particular, a lawsuit is filed if it is necessary to recover damages caused by insult.

According to the Code of Administrative Offenses, it is advisable to immediately make an appeal to the prosecutor's office.

Important! Together with the complaint, a full package of evidence is submitted, which can be expressed in any form. This is necessary for further consideration of the case. Without an evidence base, a citizen may be refused due to the lack of a confirmed fact.

If there is no evidence in the form of audio or video recordings, then it is mandatory to provide written testimony of witnesses, who may later be summoned to court.

Sample

A memorandum and a complaint to the court for consideration of a civil case are standard. The complaint is drawn up according to a special template.

Sample:

Sample report for an employee

Big game element

Rudeness can also be an element of a big game within a team - the “human pack”. When a cheerful and toothy employee constantly fights for his status, his boss may ask: “He is very playful and greyhound. Can he claim my place? Such behavior always causes more fear than desire to admire. The boss will even be glad if the subordinate stumbles a little in this struggle. It is beneficial for him to deplete the moral resources of a potential rival. And he won't defend him for the same reason. He is guided by a very simple motive: for any corporate friction to truly affect the quality of work and the creation of added value, real bullying must flare up. Therefore, any boss is ready to allow insignificant “showdowns” and minor conflicts that do not lead to a decrease in labor productivity: it is beneficial for him if a greyhound employee “breaks his teeth” on someone: he cries, screams, hysterics. He will lose part of his moral and volitional core temporarily and will cease to be a competitor.

Punishment for harassment in the workplace

There are several punishment options.
Disciplinary action is imposed only if the organization has special ethics rules, which all employees must be familiar with. Important! Familiarization takes place against signature. Oral actions have no force.

A disciplinary sanction must be proportionate to the act, that is, it is impossible to fire an employee for an obscene joke, since such dismissal is appealed in accordance with the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Differences in punishment may occur for violators from different categories, for example, such a person may be an outsider, an official, or an organization. In all cases, the size of the punishment and its severity will directly depend on the category of the person and the nature of the violation.

Civil responsibility

Civil liability may arise for statements made without obscene expression or action.

The civil law procedure provides for the following options:

• making a personal or public apology;
• compensation for material and moral damage;
• moral damage cannot exceed 50,000 rubles.

Responsibility comes only after the corresponding decision of the court to which the victim applied.

Administrative responsibility

If there are obscene forms, administrative measures are taken. Punishment options:

• fine from 1000-50000 rubles;
• administrative arrest with a maximum period of 15 days;
• joint use of sanctions.

The latter option is rarely used, that is, only arrest or only a fine is applied as punishment.

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Criminal penalty

Criminal punishment is used when there are threats to life and health. Sanctions in this case may be different:

• domestic arrest or detention with a maximum period of one year;
• imprisonment for 3-7 years.

Criminal liability can be expressed in two punishments, but they are imposed only in accordance with the severity of the consequences.

Important! If there is criminal liability, the victim has the right to additionally apply to the court to receive compensation.

Possible consequences for the conflict initiator

An administrative violation entails an administrative penalty for insulting a person – a fine. According to Art. 5.61 of the Administrative Code, the fine is:

• for citizens – up to 3 thousand rubles;
• for officials – up to 30 thousand rubles;
• for legal entities – up to 100 thousand rubles.

You can learn about administrative liability for the instigator of a conflict who insults his colleague by watching the video

In addition, in accordance with the collective labor agreement, other measures of influence may be provided for the violator who committed the insult. This could be a fine, deprivation of a bonus, an entry in the work book, etc.

Want more information? Ask questions in the comments to the article

How can you protect yourself from insults?

The main rule is the absence of retaliatory actions of an illegal nature, that is, you cannot insult in response. All actions and words must be completely neutral and competent. Only in this case can one be held accountable.

The protection against further abuse is a complaint that is filed correctly and has the necessary confirmation. The damage that has been caused is recovered in the standard manner through the courts. Protecting your dignity consists of several actions:

• recording the fact I am in any accessible form;
• notifications to the manager in writing;
• collection of evidence and evidence;
• contacting the required authority.

This is standard procedure, except in cases where management is involved in the incident. In this case, the appeal is made immediately to the labor inspectorate and the prosecutor's office.

In case of incidents in the workplace, an internal inspection is always carried out, which is announced by both management and the labor inspectorate. To prove that you are right, you must have all the evidence on hand, for example, printed screenshots from an Internet resource, certified by a notary.

Let me criticize you

The world is changing and it may seem that today we live and work in a world of hypersensitive people who are ready to be mortally offended by any reasonable remark - the document was executed inappropriately or the application deadlines were not met.
Not all corporate disputes can be a manifestation of rudeness, because rudeness does not equal criticism. When an employee is told in a complicated way that he is not a professional, is this rudeness? Sometimes it may not even be counted as a slight insult. Every person has the right to an opinion, but not everyone has a sufficient supply of psycho-emotional energy and patience to express it politely (“let me criticize you”). And sometimes they can tell you straight up: “You are unprofessional” and be 100% right. If the remark that you hear can be defined as criticism, which has a factual basis, then it cannot be prohibited; your interlocutor has the right to do so. You can only ask to criticize in a more polite manner. With rudeness everything is much simpler. Before storming the premises, special forces use a flash-noise grenade. The task of the grenade is to unbalance all the sensory systems of the enemy located there: he must go blind, deaf and lost in space. And rudeness in the corporate space is the same grenade that does not hurt, but disorients.

Measures of influence on the offender

The sanctions vary depending on various factors, such as the position of the offender or the nature of the insult. Full list:

• civil action;
• complaint to regulatory authorities;
• memo to management.

In each specific case, the procedure is standard, that is, you will need to collect a full package of evidence.

Important! When drawing up a complaint or memorandum, it is necessary to make a duplicate. You will also need to fully record all information about the incident.

Enforcement measures can be applied both within the organization itself and with the help of special bodies, for example, the judicial system or the prosecutor's office. If the violation was examined within the organization itself, after which a disciplinary sanction was imposed on the violator, then it is possible to attract him with the help of other authorities as additional measures.

What to do if a subordinate begins to be rude, speaks rudely, and does not answer your questions?

You need to tell yourself the truth: As a rule, subordinates are not rude to people they depend on for no reason. There are at least 3 reasons.

1) Perhaps the leader himself sets the tone, speaking casually, rudely, in a tone that does not tolerate objections, hurting the subordinate’s pride.

2) The subordinate is not paid or his wages are delayed.

3) You, as a leader, are too democratic for your subordinate. But this subordinate is accustomed to a dictatorial leader and psychologically needs authoritarian leadership, does not see you as a leader and demonstrates this to you.

Proof

Of course, you won’t be able to get the perpetrators punished and your rights violated just by complaining.
Certain evidence must be provided. And the main evidence in this case will be the testimony of colleagues or other persons. In addition, you can provide the court or prosecutor's office with video materials confirming the fact of the insult. If you were unable to film the fact yourself, you can ask the security at the enterprise or office to provide a copy of the video from surveillance cameras, which today are available to almost any self-respecting employer.

If the verbal insult was somehow recorded on a tape recorder, then the court must provide a transcript along with the recording itself. However, if the recording is quite clear and the words are distinguishable, then this is not necessary.

Causes

A possible reason is an attempt to assert oneself at the expense of another person.
Before you think about how to respond to a boor, think about what motivates him, why he behaves this way. Let's look at the most common reasons for rude behavior.

1. The desire to stand out from the gray mass, to attract attention to one’s personality. It doesn’t matter to him whether they will condemn or approve of his behavior, the main thing is that they will pay attention.
2. A way of self-affirmation. By humiliating colleagues with rude words, a boor increases his self-esteem and feels like the strongest.
3. Rude behavior is a way to throw out accumulated negativity, an attempt to relieve stress. If a person once allowed himself to behave like this, you need to treat it with understanding. If he regularly fails to cope with accumulated aggression, he poses a danger to the team.
4. Heightened self-esteem. A person comes to the conclusion that rudeness is the norm of behavior, he does not care about the feelings of other people. He will easily walk over other people's heads and trample on the self-esteem of his colleagues.
5. Natural rudeness. In fact, the employee is not able to remain silent once again; he says everything directly, without thinking about the consequences.
6. Aggression. A person sees enemies around him and assumes that everyone is against him. He uses rude behavior to defend himself from people. This is self-defense from imaginary problems.
7. Inability to correctly argue your opinion, defend your position.
8. Fatigue, psychological reboot.
9. Lack of love. Such a person grows up in such an environment, perhaps facing physical violence. So a person grows up with a negative attitude towards the whole world.