The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) defines workplace bullying as
“repeated, health-harming mistreatment by one or more employees of an employee: abusive conduct that takes the form of verbal abuse; or behaviors perceived as threatening, intimidating, or humiliating; work sabotage; or in some combination of the above.”
I experienced bullying as an educator. I was targeted by my coworkers. When I realised that I was being bullied, I didn’t even know that the term workplace bullying existed. When I did some research on workplace bullying, I came across the terms covert and overt bullying. I then understood that I was a victim of covert bullying.
Bullying is a taboo subject in society, and even more so in the workplace. Workplace bullying can even be normalised by those who view bullying as normal conflict. The school management did help me but was clearly not trained to tackle bullying in the workplace.
There isn’t a law that directly condemns bullying in Mauritius. However, there is The Workers’ rights Act 2019 Section 114 that addresses bullying at work. (Kindly read my article Bullying, Harassment and the Law to know more about the legal aspects of bullying).
Mobbing is also known as group bullying. In other words, a person is not only targeted by a bully but by many bullies at the same time. I have personally experienced mobbing as I was targeted by many groups of bullies.
Le DéfiMedia reports that from January 2019 to May 2022, 253 workplace bullying and discrimination cases have been reported to the Ministry of Labour. These are official statistics but many cases aren’t reported as victims may not have tangible evidence or suffer in silence. It is very important to break the silence. Bullies thrive on your silence. Bullies will cruelly hurt their targets over and over again. They will stop if you break the silence and expose them. They will also stop if they don’t get any support from their audience. Or they may stop on their own once they feel better about themselves.
One way of preventing workplace bullying is to provide training to staffs. The best solution is not to let the bullying become worse. A bullying case should always be addressed quickly and swiftly.
For a detailed workplace bullying awareness and prevention programme, feel free to contact me.
Bibliography
DéfiMedia. 3 September 2022. “Harcèlement et discrimination : 253 cas rapportés au ministère du Travail”. https://defimedia.info/harcelement-et-discrimination-253-cas-rapportes-au-ministere-du-travail
The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI). 22 November 2022. “What is workplace bullying?” https://workplacebullying.org/