“How is your
workplace? Do you feel all right when you are there?”You
may be asked questions like these at a party or when meeting up with
friends.
When you answer
them, you may be thinking about your salary, or the actual work you
do. But you may also be thinking of your
colleagues, your superiors, and how you all work as a team.
Or you may be
thinking of:
Whether
you can keep up with the pace at your workplace? Whether you will
still be needed there in the future? Your career options? Whether you
and your co-workers have fun together?
All of these
reflections are related to job satisfaction. Mental work environment
is the totality of the circumstances governing whether you are
satisfied or unhappy in your job.
Symptoms
Sometimes, it's hard
to figure out why you, or a co-worker, may be unhappy in your job.
Mental work environment is not an easy thing to
gauge. Your mental work environment is like
an iceberg: the tip, showing above the surface of the ocean, is the
symptoms of a bad mental work environment – the part of the problem
that is most easily seen and identified.
A poor mental work
environment is not necessarily connected to discrimination or racism
in the workplace.
Ask yourself:
-
Do you often
snap at each other at your workplace?
-
Can you all
work together without problems?
-
Are you, or
anyone else, victimized or bullied?
-
Does your
workplace have a high rate of absence due to sickness?
Causes
The root causes of
good or poor job satisfaction are hidden below the surface:
-
Do you have a say in
how your work is planned and executed?
-
Is your job
meaningful Do you feel that you make a
difference?
-
Is your work day
predictable? Are you informed of important changes that affect your
work?
-
Do you and your
co-workers support each other? Do you back each other up, and lend a
helping hand where it is needed?
-
Are you rewarded for
your efforts? Not just in terms of salary, but also praise, and
career opportunities?
-
What does your
work demand of you? Is the pace too fast or too slow? Are the task
too difficult, or boring?
If you want a better
mental work environment, you have to attack the root causes of poor
job satisfaction.
Victimization and Bullying
Bullying is often
misunderstood for “having an informal tone” or “teasing”. But
although teasing may evolve into bullying, the two are not the same
thing.
We speak of bullying
when two key factors are involved:
Workplace bullying may
creep up on you. You may not speak up at first: you're not someone
who “can't take a good joke” or “a wee bit of teasing”. But
it's never too late to speak up if you feel that someone is violating
your personal boundaries.
If you witness
bullying or victimization at your workplace, speak up!
Bullying is cruel enough in and of itself. But
victims often report that what is just as bad is the fact that
everybody else just lets it happen – nobody interferes or tries to
end it. Because bullying breaks down your self-confidence, it can be
very hard for victims to speak out.
The responsibility
for ending workplace bullying is shared by everyone. Don't wait for
management to act, even though they may bear the brunt of the
responsibility.
Harassment and Violence
When a person more
or less intentionally violates another person, this is harassment.
Sexual harassment is
any behaviour, sexual in nature, that is unwanted and violates the
dignity of men or women at the workplace. Many
different types of behaviour can constitute sexual harassment. This
could, for instance, be hanging pictures of naked women on the wall,
or it could be dirty jokes and remarks that are out of place. But it
could just as easily be inappropriate touching, dirty talk, etc. when
you are just two people together.
Harassment, both sexual
and otherwise, may creep up on you. You may not speak up at first:
you're not someone who “can't take a good joke” or “a wee bit
of teasing”. But it's never too late to speak up if you feel that
someone is violating your personal boundaries.
The harassing party
should be stopped and, if the violations have been of a particularly
flagrant nature, punished.
All incidents of
violence should be reported to the police. It can still be violence,
even if there are no visible bruises etc. If your boss yells at you
and drags you through the room by your shirt-collar, this constitutes
an act of violence.
Far too many men and women
keep it to themselves when they fell that they are the victims of
harassment, sexual harassment, or violence. It is important that you
don't try to take matters into your own hands. Contact your trade
union representative, or get in touch with the local branch of your
trade union.
3F
Fagligt Fælles Forbund (United Federation of Danish Workers) has
kindly allowed for the publication of this article on Finfo.dk
Translated from the original Danish.
