At workplaces, emotional abuse can take several different forms, such as bullying, harassment, verbal insults, intimidation, gaslighting and scapegoating. Its negative impacts can be long-lasting and emotionally challenging.
Such behaviours are typically perpetuated by workplace bullies and abrasive leaders who exert their power to demean, control and manipulate their subordinates.
In many cases, employee emotional abuse is repetitive, targeted and destructive communication by more powerful members toward less powerful members at work. As per a study conducted on the effects of chronic workplace harassment on mental health, over 90% of adults experience psychological and emotional abuse at some point during the span of their work careers (Hornstein, 1996).
Table of Contents
- How Can I Tell If I’m Being Emotionally Abused At Work?
- Effects Of Workplace Emotional Abuse
- How Does Emotional Abuse At Work Affect You?
- How Is It Different From Physical Abuse?
- Which One Is More Damaging?
- Psychological Vs Emotional Abuse
- How Do You Tackle Or Cope With Emotional Abusers At Work?
- Case Study On Emotional Abuse At Work
How Can I Tell If I’m Being Emotionally Abused At Work?
There is always a cyclical pattern in a superior’s mistreatment of their subordinates. It is common for the abusive superior to single out a new target once the old target quit or was fired.
The abuser targets the victim with emotional control and acts abusively and irrationally, such as insulting, name-calling and humiliating the target.
You can identify an abuser if you experience the following situations:
- Your boss regularly humiliates and belittles you in front of your colleagues, commenting on your intelligence and competence and making you feel worthless
- A colleague spreads false rumours about you, engaging in backstabbing tactics to sabotage your reputation and isolate you from the team
- Your superior regularly ignores your contributions and ideas, constantly favouring others and making you feel invisible and insignificant
- You constantly receive intimidating emails from a coworker, using aggressive language and threats, creating a hostile work environment
- You are given an unreasonable workload and constantly berated for asking questions or seeking help, leading to emotional distress and burnout
- When a superior publicly insult your presentation skills during a team meeting
- Colleagues intentionally excluding you from work-related events and discussions
- A manager consistently undermines your efforts by pointing out minor errors and disregarding your accomplishments
- When a senior threatens to demote you if you refuse to work extra hours without compensation
Effects Of Workplace Emotional Abuse
How does emotional abuse at work affect you?
Emotional abuse at work can have severe consequences on your mental and emotional well-being. It can lead to feelings of unworthiness, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and even physical health issues. Such abuse can also negatively impact your personal relationships and overall quality of life.
How is emotional abuse different from physical abuse?
Emotional abuse involves psychological manipulation, belittlement and humiliation that can have long-lasting effects on your mental health.
Physical abuse involves bodily harm because of the work environment. It includes acts such as pushing, shoving, kicking, slapping, throwing an object or any other unwarranted physical contact.
Which one is more damaging?
Both forms of abuse are harmful, however, emotional abuse can be difficult to detect as it leaves no visible scars. It can be even worse when someone is unaware that they are being abused because it can seem like they are being taken care of. That is why it is called “abuse in disguise”. It takes time for a victim of emotional abuse to realise what is happening.
Psychological Versus Emotional Abuse
Psychological abuse is a form of mistreatment that involves manipulation, control and intimidation to damage a person’s sense of self-worth and mental well-being.
Whereas, emotional abuse is characterised by behaviours that undermine a person’s confidence, exploit their vulnerabilities and erode their emotional resilience.
Both forms of abuse can have devastating effects on the victim’s mental health.
How do you deal with emotional abuse at work?
- To prevent confrontation, it is important to remain calm and composed
- If prompted or required to talk with the person abusing, talk with confidence and have a rational and objective conversation with the abuser
- Inform your colleagues and fellow team members about the targeted behaviour and emotional abuse.
- Report your superiors if the environment gets too toxic, with proof and proper documentation.
- You leave and find a new job, if possible.
In case you are serving a notice period or are trying to plan an exit strategy or if there is some reason you need to stay, then, the following steps you can take to help you cope until you find another job:
- You have therapy to help you stand up for yourself
- Ignore HR, they are there to protect the company, not you
- No verbal conversations unless they are work-related
- Keep a journal of all the unfavourable incidents
- Try to build a support network at work but do not trust them blindly
- Spend time with your family and friends who care for you and try to overcome the trauma inflicted upon you by such abuse and also in order to see things from a different perspective
- Do not shrink yourself or your network, instead expand it to where rumours and lies cannot affect you
- Do not fall into their trap of asking you to stay if you are on a notice period or are quitting the job
Case Study On Emotional Abuse At Work
Following is an excerpt from a workplace emotional abuse case study:
- Over a two-year period, an employee endured persistent harassment, intimidation and bullying by her supervisor in the form of vulgar language, threats that she would lose her job, pressure to break liquor licensing rules, pressure to resign her union membership, changes in her work classification such that she lost pay and seniority and underpayment of wages.
- The treatment of this employee by her supervisor damaged her mental health and she was referred to a psychologist. She was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression. Her prognosis suggested it was unlikely that she would return to paid employment.
- The District Court of New South Wales concluded that the employer had breached its duty of care to provide a safe workplace and awarded damages amounting to $507,550.
How Can You Break These Barriers To Emotional Abuse?
Victims of abusive seniors and colleagues face barriers across different layers. Hence, a systemic approach to breaking down the barriers is essential. This means not only taking action against the perpetrator but also addressing societal issues and organisational dynamics by including professional therapists, human resource departments, confidants and colleagues.
The effects of emotional abuse are detrimental to the individuals suffering and the organisations as well. When you stay reluctant to accept this and confront those harassing you, this results in a toxic environment where work productivity suffers as a result of slowed growth and the absence of positive mental stimulation and creativity.
So, both employees and management need to take the necessary action to avoid such toxic environments at work so that emotional well-being and work productivity do not suffer.