BULLYING COUNSELING AS GROWTH INDUSTRY

Too Many Victims -Workplace Bullying Now A Crime (Margherita De Bac, Corriere Della Sera, February 19th, 2005)

They are not work-shy. Quite the reverse, they are devoted to their work, often ambitious and may have important jobs, perhaps as top-level administrators or successful executives. Then one day, they become the target of a fiendish campaign of harassment intended to isolate them. It’s as if there were a silent conspiracy in the company. In the end, even their colleagues appear to be sneering at them. The individual concerned may be forced to change office, swapping a well-lit room with secretaries and a bar for a stuffy, crowded space little bigger than a cupboard. The victim’s job may also be degraded. A manager may be turned into a paper-shuffler warming a seat. Victims suffer and fret, finally becoming ill and in need of psychological support for depression, anxiety or panic attacks.

In Italy, there are at least 750,000 bullied workers, or 4.2% of all employees. But the actual figure is thought to be around one and a half million. For the first time, the phenomenon has been studied from a legal and scientific viewpoint in a dossier that will be presented today at conference to be held at the Senate. The title is “Mobbing Oggi, Dalla Riflessione Alla Legge” (“Workplace Bullying Today. From Reflection to Legislation”. The English term “mobbing” is used in Italian to refer to workplace bullying.-Trans). Also being presented is the draft bill proposed by National Alliance’s Senator Luciano Magnalbò, a lawyer and vice president of the constitutional affairs committee. The proposal incorporates the many drafts deposited in parliament by both majority and opposition parliamentarians.

Workplace bullying is to be treated as a criminal offence and those responsible will risk up to four years in jail. Among the many new elements is a series of instruments to safeguard victims. One of these is the reversal of the onus of proof, albeit only for the purposes of the civil code. It will be up to the employer to prove there was no deliberate intention to cause harm. If the bully is convicted, all the measures taken to push the victim aside will be declared invalid. Article eight lays down that the regulations also apply to employees of “political parties and associations”, the only workers who can still be dismissed without reason.

Let’s hope those European reformers who are trying to tackle job security and benefits entitlements are entitled to some grief counseling themselves.