Employer tactics and psychological mechanisms in workplace bullying

Introduction
The realities of workplace bullying are not disputed. The existence of deliberate practices (threats, blackmail, harassment) by management to elicit employee errors to justify termination for "misconduct" or destabilize and incite resignation is now recognized (Menendez, Wagner, Yates & Walcott, 2012). The draft law of the U.S constitution on workplace bullying is defined as repeated acts by an employer, his representative or any person abusing the authority conferred by his functions, which are designed or the effect of which are undermining the dignity and establishing working conditions that are humiliating or degrading.
In such situations, the ethical suffering (such as being uncomfortable, demotivated and nervousness) stems from the erosion of self-esteem on the one hand. To avert the risk of an employee being collapsed (morally and ethically), most subjects build defenses specifically to counter them: for instance, the shame is overcome by the internalization of the values proposed, that is to say, the trivialization of evil acts in the exercise of ordinary civilians; cynicism in the workplace has become an equivalent strength of character; there is a need to belong to the dominant group, join the new company values (Berry, Gillespie, Gates & Schafer, 2012).; tolerance to injustice and suffering inflicted on another is erected in value manly; a social virility is measured by the ability to exercise violence on the other so-called necessary. The more the working conditions tighten, the more these defenses become rigid, pushing attitudes to caricature. Significance of Workplace Bullying Bullying at work is defined as more abusive behavior, similar or different external or internal to the company or institution, which occur for some time, whose purpose or effect is of violating the personality, dignity or physical or mental integrity of person when performing the work, to jeopardize his job or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive attitude and which are manifested by words including, intimidation, acts, gestures or written unilaterally. The components of bullying are abusive behaviors and their repetition over time (Simons & Mawn, 2010). The employer must pay special attention to measures to be taken vis-à-vis the workers who come in contact with third parties. To help implement its policy of prevention, it must register with the prevention advisor or person of trust in which workers can state the facts of violence or harassment they feel they have been the subject of in the company (Martin & Martin, 2010).
Workplace bullying is also confused with the stress and its manifestations have parallels with the regular bullying, which it resembles in many ways (Martin & Martin, 2010). In most cases, for both bullying outside and at work, the strategies used by stalkers or mobbers are subtle, as seen more psychologically, because the intention is to leave no trace or mark of harassment. The aim is to pass the beleaguered, or mobbed, as incompetent, unproductive or problematic and, incidentally, can not be accused of anything, because of the difficult demonstrability of psychological aggression (Stagg & Sheridan, 2010). For this purpose, a common tactic is a continuing challenge, through which it is intended that the victim, precisely because of tension or stress they live under, finished exploding and in a fit of anger betraying itself well by word or act, which already has the pretext for punishment or expulsion, and so the stalker can wash their hands clean thereafter (Stagg, Sheridan, Jones & Speroni, 2011). Workplace bullying may lead to occupational diseases such as fatigue, fear, and loss of confidence, i.e. derived from the work, although both authorities and companies are very reluctant to admit this fact as such. Effects of Bullying in the Workplace Bullying at work is a subject still taboo in our society, but it is also a phenomenon, unfortunately, that is too common. When it comes to harassment at work, it is often difficult to prove it. However, there are some important steps that a victim can take to document workplace bullying. First, a victim can keep a diary to describe all the things that occurred in the workplace. Copies of e-mail messages or testimonials from colleagues who are willing to show their support can be kept. Second, medical certificates of the patient's condition can be included, because often, the workplace harassment is synonymous with a nervous breakdown, or stress, and victims may become sick (Menendez & Whitaker, 2012). The goal is to create a record, as complete as possible. Also, bullied workers should be aware that a resignation is not often the best solution.
Aside from this, victims may also apply to occupational medicine which can only observe the patient's depression. Ethics and physical health are not things trivial, these are real evidence (Hershcovis, 2011). The last recourse is still worthy of the court. Indeed, the moral harassment is punishable by law and getting his testimony in court is the first thing a victim can cling to. It is of course easier to defend himself with witnesses or people suffering the same fate also at work.
By studying the impact of working conditions and organization of health workers, trade unionists and experts from different disciplines have taken consideration about this particular form of harassment (Johnson, 2011). Past studies have enabled a large audience to better understand the phenomenon by revealing the diversity of these events, highlighting this relationship with the organization of work and the fact that, without intervention supported by a new law, workers remain trapped, helpless and without legal recourse.
The phenomenon of bullying manifests itself in various forms, such as attitudes, pressure, harassment, refusal of communication, or a range of diverse behaviors that may initially seem harmless, but with replication, are wrong (Carbo & Hughes, 2010). Although no overall study has been made to date in France, published studies in other European countries has revealed that according to research conducted by the European Foundation in 1998, 9% of French employees, 1.9 million people, had been victims of intimidation or bullying in the workplace over the previous twelve months.
The victim of bullying is often suffering from multiple pathologies that can lead to suicide. Employees are thereby forced to resign to protect their health (Mathisen, Einarsen & Mykletun, 2011). Such a decision is not always enough, as it can take years to recover. Specific legislation has become a necessity. Recognition of the suffering and the means to seek redress in court for damages incurred from workplace bullying may be healing factors. In addition, bullying at work is now increasingly used by employers as an alternative to dismissal pernicious: cornering the employee's resignation allows the employer to avoid the use of a dismissal procedure and binding can sometimes costly (Simons & Mawn, 2010).
If this form of bullying at work is old, its novelty lies in the severity, extent and the trivialization of the phenomenon. Mass unemployment and sustainable damage engendered by the crisis is no stranger to this fact: the fear of dismissal of employees often leads dependents to endure humiliating situations as not permissible (Sims & Sun, 2012). Competitive tendering of a systematic employee also generates aggressive behavior. The exploitation of women and men at work are too often accompanied by violence. The new crisis of capitalism itself engenders a shift in society against exclusion, inequality and injustice, causing an atmosphere permeated with aggression which in turn aggravates relations in professional circles.
Bullying or harassment at work, often known by the term workplace bullying (harass, stalk, corner in the group) is both the action of a bully or bullies conducive to producing fear, contempt or discouragement in the affected worker towards his work, as the effect or illness that occurs in the worker (Privitera & Campbell, 2009). This person or group of persons receives a violent psychological justification through negative and hostile acts in or out of work by external social groups, peers (bullying horizontal, peer), its subordinates (vertical up) or their superiors (vertical downward, also called bossing, English boss, boss). Psychological violence occurs in a systematic manner and recurrs for a long time, over weeks, months or even years, and sometimes it adds acts of God and even physical assaults, in severe cases.
The aim ultimately to this harassment, intimidation or disturbance (or usually the combination of all of them) is the abandonment of work by the victim, or victims, which is considered by his assailants as a nuisance or threat to their personal interests (need for extortion, lust for power, wealth, social position, maintaining the status quo, etc.). The term workplace bullying (the verb to mob, meaning referred to above) comes from ethology, the science of animal behavior, especially in the field of ornithology, where the defensive behavior of a group of small birds is the workplace bullying continued at a larger enemy, often a bird of prey (Baillien, Rodriguez-Munoz, Anja & De Witte, 2011). These behaviors often end in nature, or with the flight, or the death of an animal pursued by several others.
Workplace bullying and psychosocial risk could be confused with other pathological manifestations of work called 'burned worker syndrome', or burn-out. But they do not represent the same phenomenon, as the burn-out literally means 'burnout' or worn attitudinal circumstances or characteristics inherent in the profession or work, which generates in workers a strong demand on the emotional side of things. Teachers or nurses, are two common examples. In Mexico you can use the term 'worker burned', instead of burn-out . Effects on the Bullying Victim For reasons, many and varied, the employee who is a victim of bullying, is sometimes reluctant to notify the labor inspectorate of the situation and seek his intervention in the company (Martin & LaVan, 2010). The main reason for this reluctance is the fact that once the labor inspectorate is informed, the investigation is official, and although the return or the investigation may take several weeks, the employer is informed of this rebellion, which can sometimes inflame the situation (Martin & LaVan, 2010). Often destroyed physically and morally, the employee wants only one thing: make everything stop.
If work stoppages persist over time, it is common to find that the employer decides to dismiss the employee to generally get rid of the disorganization of the company (Menendez, Wagner, Yates & Walcott, 2012). Be aware, however, for such a complaint can be grounds for dismissal, if the employee's absence causes a disturbance and is found to target the operation of the company and that the final replacement of it is unavoidable. Thus, the employer may compensate for the temporary absence of the employee. Determined to witness what he considers the actions that constitute moral harassment cease, the employee may take the initiative to enter the Industrial Tribunal to obtain judgment against his employer and the award of damages interests (Berry, Gillespie, Gates & Schafer, 2012). As such, the question of proof appears to be essential for the recognition of bullying and conviction of its author. Thus, the employee victim (or alleged victim) of the elements of a harassment must establish the facts that make it a harassment.
Therefore, the employee has the burden of demonstrating the existence of facts which he criticizes. However, he did not establish that the facts of his complains are constitutive of moral harassment (Menendez & Whitaker, 2012). In practice, an employee who complains of harassment, demotions, insults or any other behavior reprehensible must demonstrate their existence, most commonly through certificates. After assessing the employer's explanations about the true nature of the allegations, the Industrial Tribunal is the sole judge of whether the facts are established or do not legally constitute psychological harassment. Physical, Psychological, and Social Consequences of Workplace Bullying Bullying practices in the workplace are usually related to psychological abuse, which can manifest gossip, belittling the merits, demotion, libel, complexity of work, social isolation, or general bad attitude (Caponecchia, Sun & Wyatt, 2012). Not every conflict in the workplace involves bullying. Bullying is a systematic and long-term oppression. The victim of bullying feels a sense of oppression, humiliation and fear. The obligation of the employer is to stop the bullying (Hershcovis, 2011). On bullying in the workplace, he or she should respond immediately. The sooner the situation will be intervene, the more abuse will end. Caused by psychological stress, bullying can be so heavy that in the worst case of protracted situations, it can lead to depression.
Bullying or harassment does not refer directly to the persecution of a sexual nature, although it would be included. It refers specifically to the action of one or more people in a company, partnership or institution directed against a co-worker in order to get them out of office, undermine their self esteem or enhance the self-esteem of bullies (Carbo & Hughes, 2010). We can summarize this as psychological abuse at work, and repeated with a defined objective. The reasons that lead some people to exercise this kind of harassment and demolition of others are several, though not as many as there are individual motivations. The primary, although it sounds surprising to some, is envy (Stagg, Sheridan, Jones & Speroni, 2011). Envy and jealousy is understood as the success of the intended victim.
The social impact of workplace bullying are characterized by the appearance in the isolation of the victim's behaviours, avoidance and withdrawal, as well as the resignation, the sense of alienation from society and a cynical attitude towards the environment. It usually generates around the victim progressive isolation, due in part to the withdrawal of some of his friends, who saw the situation, chose to turn away and disappear, along with the victim's active isolation exercises. They do not want to be with others to keep from having to explain about their departure from the organization, and because of this sense of failure and lack of trust think the rest of people consider him/her a failure, and are afraid to face any criticism.
Although harassment may seem an action exerted from the top to the feeder, our experience is that it can occur in either direction: top to bottom, bottom to top and peer. It depends on the personality of the harassed, the harasser's, their number, and the circumstances and work environment (Johnson, 2011). It is universally known that the importance of stress in the onset and worsening of many diseases. The vital signs of our body must be kept at optimal levels of performance i.e. homeostatic balance. Situations, events or stimuli that disrupt this balance forces the body to make an extra effort to restore internal balance. If after some time these stressors persist, the resilience of the body can no longer respond as effectively, increasing their vulnerability to pathogens, favoring the emergence of all kinds of diseases such as flu, cold sores, high blood pressure and specific stress syndromes (Mathisen, Einarsen & Mykletun, 2011). Clinical Symptoms of Workplace Bullying Clinical symptoms have been reported that bullying that occurs in the victim can be distinguished between different stages:

Stage of self-assertion. The victim detects the conflict or derogatory treatment, interpreting that right is on their side and that there is a misunderstanding. Stadium of bewilderment. The victim feels bewildered, certainly doas not know what is happening and starts thinking about his alleged responsibility for what happened. Stadium of helplessness. At this stage, the victim tries to please him and to take better account; this effort ends up triggering a feeling of powerlessness and helplessness that culminates into a depressed state. Stadium traumatic or anxiety. If the harassment persists, the victims often feel vulnerable and presents a state of anxiety, impulsive behaviours are frequent as well as loss of control. Chronic stage of stabilization. It is likely to last with a feeling of worthlessness and low self-esteem, possibly with a state of anxiety-depression and PTSD.

Workplace Bullying Stress Syndromes Specific stress syndromes are those syndromes in which adaptation to external demands play a role in the onset of the disease. Workplace harassment is included in this category, it provokes psychopathological reactions to external influence (Privitera & Campbell, 2009). These psychopathological reactions are defined as the set of subjective disorders and behavior directly related to the influence of the external world on the individual. Workplace bullying and workplace bullying outside work is a crime in Spain and other countries. Sweden was the pioneer in this legislation in 1983 when criminalizing or psychological harassment at work and crime were constitutionized. Social awareness has to be progressive (Sims & Sun, 2012). Bullies do not understand what is democracy or respect for people. And society should admonish them to defend the rights of victims, protect state interests, administer justice and education of severely hampering coexistence for being in lower stages of morality.
The employer must designate a prevention counsellor specializing in psychosocial aspects of work, including violence and workplace bullying or sexual harassment at work (Baillien, Rodriguez-Munoz, Anja & De Witte, 2011). An employer who employs fewer than 50 workers must use safety advisor of an external service, while an employer who employs more than 50 workers must decide after consulting with the committee for the prevention and labor protection, if the missions assigned to specialized prevention adviser will be performed by a prevention advisor or if internal service uses an external service. A worker who believes they have experienced abuse or bullying or sexual harassment at work can opt for three-way action: it can focus on internally, he may apply to officials responsible for monitoring or he may bring any proceedings before the competent court (Stagg & Sheridan, 2010). If he chooses the domestic proceedings, the worker shall apply either to the person of trust, or the prevention counselor specializing in psychosocial aspects of work. Potential Strategies for Preventing Workplace Bullying Companies, firms, and organizations have a role to prevent workplace bullying as much as possible for the benefits it brings to its workforce. Moreover, it is incumbent upon senior organization executives to build and implement measures and strategies for the prevention of workplace bullying (Clarke et al., 2015). Several strategies are available to organizations for the creation of context and safety conditions where victims of workplace bullying can speak up and solve the problem together.

Organizational Culture The culture of an organization is essential in the prevention of workplace bullying. Organizations should seek to create a culture where every member is treated with respect and dignity and any acts of bullying are not tolerated. To develop such a culture, the top management should institute various strategies. The first would be to develop and promote a code of conduct that is anti-bullying. The culture of an organization should raise awareness that bullying is unaccepted as well as bring out its destructive effects (Ritzman, 2016). In case there are acts of bullying, the culture of an organization should provide a process that adequately and effectively responds to the reports as well as ensures that the behaviour is dealt with confidentially, within time, and in a fair manner for both sides (Woodrow & Guest, 2014). Every organization needs to create policies and procedures that are appropriate and institute managers and supervisors who are empowered and trained for effective response to any bullying incidences. Lastly, organizations need to promote corporation and teamwork among their human resource members.

Leadership Styles Organizational leadership is the other potential area for the prevention of bullying in the workplace. To realize this potential, it requires from the start point, recruitment of supervisors and managers who are qualified in the management of people into productive roles. To promote this feature, organizations can train managers on how to; effectively communicate with their employees and engage them in the process of making decisions, provide feedback constructively both formally and informally, and effective management of workloads (Nielsen & Knardahl, 2015). Managers are also to be encouraged to lead through examples by demonstration of positive management skills. For new managers with poor management skills, they are to be mentored and supported, through regular leadership support and development skills. The organization is also to implement performance improvement plan and include leadership questions on the conduct of managers in employee opinion surveys.

Systems of Work The system of work within an organization is also a vital area for the prevention of workplace bullying. Through the systems of work, management needs to monitor and review staffing levels per workloads and allow each employee work autonomy and an opportunity to contribute to decisions of the organization (Valentine, Fleischman & Godkin, 2015). Each job should be clearly defined and employees should be encouraged to have a healthy work and life balance. In addition, staff members should be allowed to provide regular feedback and concerns they might harbour about their responsibilities and duties. In the event of changes in the workplace, affected employee ought to be consulted as early as possible and an effective communication framework maintained all through the change process.

Relationships in the Workplace Organizations need to create and implement processes for resolving issues as provided for by the workplace health and safety act and regulations. In addition, organizations should provide training on workplace equality, interpersonal communication skills, etc and ensure that managers and supervisors act in appropriate behaviour within appropriate time frames.