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“Well, you’ve finally found your place in line”
Monika was cycling home from work when the accident happened. She collided with a car. Nose reconstruction, broken ones, body covered in bruises. When she left the hospital and the painkillers wore off, her hands still hurt. She felt all the time that she had to go back to work because the company needed her. After all, he has been giving his all there for eight years. It must be needed there. She did not extend her leave. She returned, continuing treatment on her own.
I have an understanding manager. He let me finish an hour early so I could get to rehab
– he tells.
Unfortunately, it turned out that rehabilitation was not enough. She’ll have to have an operation on her arm, then a cast for three months. She didn’t take leave again. Instead, after leaving the hospital, she trimmed her cast lightly so she could work on the computer. Everything was OK. Until she mentioned to the manager that she wanted to use the vacation she had planned before the accident.
She had to go to her boss and tell him something. Moments later, he called me into his office. It was Friday. I sat in front of him stupefied, and he yelled that what am I imagining, that he will not give me any leave. He shouted that I had to come to work on Monday. I cried and barely made out to him what the situation was. He didn’t care
he recalls.
I ask how she would describe her boss. He enumerates: he does not appreciate people, he treats them in advance, he thinks that not this employee is another. Maybe anything because he graduated from law school. He knows how to talk to an employee so as not to give him a raise.
A week ago, a foreign delegation came to the office. We waited in the aisle – about 10 people – until our guests took their seats and the boss greeted them, did the introduction. As he walked down the hall, he stopped in front of me. I was standing in the corner, against the wall. He said in front of everyone, Well, you’ve finally found your place in line
– he tells. Although he tries to forget the incident, he returns.
I’m sorry. I still have this humiliation in front of my friends in my head. I try not to think about it every day. He treats everyone like that. A friend hears more similar texts. She has more contact with him than I do
he says evasively. I ask why he won’t leave. He has to find another job first. At the same time, he admits that he wonders how the man will react when he finally shows up in his office with a notice. He suspects he won’t even care.
“She fired me because I took time off”
Julia was 21 years old when she went to her first job. As she says, it was a small “company” from the fashion industry: three employees and a boss. She was still a student at the time and knew nothing about the labor market. When her boss started telling her and another employee that they were “bad and incapable”, she thought it was like that everywhere. The third one was her favourite.
We were supposed to organize an event, but we learned important details only on its day. It couldn’t be arranged. The boss, who in my opinion was often under the influence of psychoactive substances, did not understand. She told me that I was no good for anything, that I was 21 years old and I would not find another job
he recalls.
Such words were like a slap in the face for a 21-year-old. Every day she went to work with a huge stomachache. There, the boss would come to her with a list of tasks to be done “for now”. She was surprised that they weren’t done yet, since she’d ordered them a week ago. Julia knows she was bluffing and trying to put the blame on her. There were times when she told her to call in search of potential clients. She then stood over her and listened to him talk to them. When she saw that Julia was stressed and didn’t feel comfortable, she got angry and shouted that it was sick, that she couldn’t do it freely.
I was dying of stress then. I was all shaken up
he admits years later.
By the time she got home, she couldn’t do anything. She just lay on the couch and waited for another day. To this day, she does not know how she managed to pass the exams in college. It took six months.
I probably wouldn’t have left on my own, but she fired me because I took time off. First time in half a year. She then insisted that she didn’t give me time off. I left this job mentally damaged. The boss, in turn, reflected and begged me to stay. I’m glad I didn’t give in. Then, when I was already working in other places, it turned out that life can be completely different and that work does not have to be a nightmare
Julia emphasizes.
Violence leaves a significant mark on the victim’s psyche. The report “Mobbing in the Work Environment. Characteristics of the phenomenon, its consequences, legal aspects and countermeasures” points out that immediately after the attack, victims feel, among others, increased feeling of anger, irritation, fear, depression, discouragement, helplessness, resignation, apathy. They may also experience guilt and low self-esteem. The authors of the report also list the long-term effects of experiencing violence in the workplace: attention deficit disorder, addiction, anxiety disorders, burnout syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, reactive depression, and even suicidal thoughts and attempts.
“Just don’t get pregnant”
Magda recognized the toxic boss already during the recruitment process. At the same time, the woman invited seven candidates to a meeting who were applying for a position in the boutique. He was in a shopping mall, and the boss asked them to wait for her in the food court. When she finally appeared, she began with a speech.
I don’t remember exactly what she said then, but it was definitely “just don’t get pregnant.” Then she said that the next stage of recruitment will be a trial day
Magda recalls.
He will remember his first trial day for a long time. Customers wandering around the store, smiling employees and expensive clothes. And behind all this mobbing and nerves, because they were not even allowed to go to the bathroom – let alone eat. When she finished the first shift, she heard that there would be more trial days, because the boss could not make a decision yet. She was put on another one, and then another. After three days of trial, she got a phone call from the boutique again. She was asked what her availability looks like next month because she has to come in for a trial day again.
I replied that the trial days were over. They didn’t call again. They weren’t looking for an employee. They tricked all of us
– he concludes.
Often people who experience mobbing maintain a toxic relationship with their boss or decide to change jobs. The perpetrator then remains unpunished. Remember that workplace harassment is a crime. Each employee, even anonymously, may inform the National Labor Inspectorate about mobbing in a given place of employment, and then refer the matter to court. According to the National Labor Inspectorate, it is worth immediately to start collecting evidence and tell people around you about what we are experiencing.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
