As far as bullying is concerned, there is a lot of discussion about what is considered bullying and what is not. The question is, if you have nothing to do at work, sooner or later you might even end up in boredom, does that even count as bullying? Yes, only then does it have a different name – Straining.
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When boredom makes you sick
Boreout is now recognized as a disease, just like burnout syndrome, and it expresses itself in a strikingly similar way. The question is: if the boreout is deliberately provoked, is it a form of bullying? This topic caused a stir: Frenchman Frédéric Desnard is suing his employer for 358,000 euros in damages due to bullying caused by boredom.
Depression, epileptic seizures and stomach ulcers are said to have caused boredom in him and he is convinced of it: his employer expressly objected to this with his behavior, with the hope that Desnard would eventually resign. In the first ruling, however, Desnard was due “Defamation” sentenced to a fine of 1,000 euros. He appealed. However, we do not currently know the outcome of this process. Is deliberately induced and permanent boredom at work bullying or not?
Boredom bullying has a name: straining
“AND”, says Prof. Dr. Harald Ege and even gives the phenomenon of boredom through bullying its name. That “Effort” comes from the English verb “to force” derivatives and means “drawing” or “stretched”. Ege is sure:
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More and more companies are consciously trying to use the effort to get rid of employees who have become redundant, too old or too expensive, who cannot fire or will not fire without severance pay due to employee protection.
Through his activity as an appraiser, he was already able to obtain the recognition of a Parameter system for bullying cases in Italy and hopes soon for a similar model in Germany. The effort should therefore allow for a more precise differentiation, since bullying has so far been defined very loosely by German courts and leaves a lot of room for interpretation.
It remains debatable whether and when the effort will be officially recognized as bullying in Germany. This makes it very difficult for those affected to assert their claims in court, for example in a claim for damages, similar to the current case in France.
How does the training work?
According to Ege, the training takes place in four phases:
- Hostile action is underway, which, in contrast to bullying, usually does not consist in an active confrontation, but in the withdrawal of the content of the work. As a result, the person concerned has too few or no tasks, is socially excluded and begins to get bored. There are no meeting invitations, projects are restructured, or responsibilities are reallocated. Also, training is often only part of a bullying case, so it goes with the others “classic” acts of bullying
- Have these hostile actions permanent consequences for the data subjecttherefore have a long-term effect on his work.
- through the artificially created stressful situation Sooner or later, the victim of the strain suffers psychological and/or physical consequences, often resulting in frequent or long-term sick leave.
- Finally it follows job losseither because the person concerned has decided to give the dismissal himself, or because he makes a mistake due to the stressful situation and thus gives the employer a (legally) legitimate reason for the dismissal.
Scary figures on bullying and straining
In Italy, public awareness of bullying and tension is much more advanced than in Germany. Consequently, the first empirical investigations on the subject of straining already exist. Accordingly, it comes 60 percent of all bullying cases in court are about effortbut only 20 percent of cases concern “classic” bullying, according to Ege, citing a 2005 Italian study.
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This makes it clear: effort is anything but a new or rare phenomenon. In Germany, too, the numbers are estimated to be equally high. With about a million cases of bullying a year, we’d come here too at least 600,000 stress accidents. The number of unreported cases is likely much higher than these numbers. In a study published in Statista, around 15% of all German employees said they have already experienced bullying in the workplace.
More statistics can be found at Statesman
15 percent is an incredibly high number. It becomes especially interesting when you take a closer look at the question: what kind of bullying is it?
More statistics can be found at Statesman
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In first place with 63 percent is the action of “withholding information”, which can be clearly classified in the “effort” category. Also, there are 44 percent of respondents who are already under the “to be ignored” immediately. However, the effort is largely unknown in Germany and there are large gaps in the jurisprudence here and generally in the area of bullying.
Judicial Options for Strain Victims
For this reason, unfortunately, it has been very difficult to defend oneself against solicitations in court. To have one more chance, you should definitely take one prepare expert reports to leave. Consult a doctor and/or psychiatrist or psychotherapist in good time and have the consequences of the training documented in detail.
At the same time you also have to do it record the situation at work and keep as evidence any evidence of bullying or tension, such as emails, photos of a cleared workspace, or evidence of internal moves. Before going to court, you should have a professional report drawn up. This is scientifically recognized and can only be overturned by a counter opinion.
Suggestions: how to defend yourself from effort
If you suffer from tension but don’t want to go to court (yet), you can defuse the situation by mentally and physically distancing yourself. Reduce working hours or take sick leave. At the same time, seek help from the works council, an independent advice center or a lawyer.
As a rule, such a situation, once it escalates, cannot be fixed 100%. So consider: Can you imagine continuing to work at this company? And if so, is an internal transfer an option? More often, though, sooner or later a job change is imminent. So start looking for a new job as soon as possible.
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Or maybe you have other tips for straining victims? Do you suffer or have you ever suffered from stress and bullying?
Photo credit: cottonbro/Pexels.com
This article was previously published in August 2022 and has now been updated again.
