Understanding the process of workplace psychological harassment: differences between organizational and interpersonal psychological harassment

Abstract

Objectives: understand workplace harassment process based on the perceptions of 64 patients examined at Occupational Health Service, Hospital das Clínicas, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo and compare organizational practices and policies and socio-demographic data associated with interpersonal and organizational psychological harassment. Method: integrated qualitative and quantitative methods, data collection between 2007 and 2012. Psychological protocol: four interviews for data collection and one consultation for orientation. Descriptive statistical analysis complemented by contingency tables between variables of interest, verifying the existence of associations by means of tests (significance level of 10%). Results: Associations with organizational psychological harassment: aged 40-50 years, working in private companies, works overtime, no control over work pace, insufficient employees, work overload, high levels of time pressure, subjected to deadlines, inexistence of reward system, greater cognitive effort, forms of harassment - humiliation, pressure for production, discrimination/lack of equity, related to salaries and benefits. Associations with interpersonal psychological harassment: good relationship with colleagues, lack of recognition by the company, worst workstation, job layout, and tools, diagnosis unrelated to family circumstances, predominance of other forms of bullying. Conclusion: Workplace bullying is a complex and multifaceted process. The existence of two distinct phenomena was revealed: interpersonal and organizational bullying.