Desrumaux, P. (2014). Harcèlement moral et suicides, des risques tabous au travail ?. Le Journal des psychologues, 1(314), 26-30. https://doi.org/10.3917/jdp.314.0026
“You are too sensitive”, “You just have to change jobs”, “If you were so in a bad way, why did you not say it?”. Do these sentences sound familiar?
In the 21st century, where health at work is on everyone’s lips, some risks are still taboo. Even worse, at the same time, those risks annoy these same lips and are minimized. In fact, it is not rare at all to see the utilization of the term “stress” instead of “workplace bullying” or “suicide”.
In order to well-understand this subject, we need to define what is a “Taboo”. A taboo is divided into three elements: a belief links to an impure or sacred nature of something or someone (e.g., human well-being), a prohibition links to this object or person (e.g., do not harm human well-being) and the belief that a transgression of this prohibition will automatically be punished (e.g., always going to jail when you harm someone well-being).
According to this definition, workplace bullying seems a taboo but the question still exists: which processes silence workplace bullying?
Working bullying perception is a first way of the answer: harassment is more complex than a dual relationship between an aggressor and a victim making the bullying opaque for all the person included in this situation (i.e. aggressor(s), victim(s), witness(es), hierarchy, etc.)
This perception brings judgment biases. Indeed, we believe in the “Just-world” (cf. Lerner, 1980): we deserve what we have and what we receive. Of this “Just-world” thoughts, derive fundamental attribution errors (cf. Ross, 1977) where, when you need to judge someone’s situation, personal attributions are overrated and situational attributions are undervalued. In other words, it is impossible for lay people to believe that the victim does not have, at least, a part of responsibilities in the situation.
This cognitive way of thinking allows the expression of negative emotions as fear under other forms: “I do not deserve to be treated like this unlike him, so it could not happen to me”. Is not it the scapegoat principle (cf. Girard, 1982)?
Words I have learned :
To be on everyone’s lips: être sur les lèvres de tout le monde
Just-world theory: Théorie du Monde Juste
Fundamental attribution errors: L’erreur fondamentale d’attribution
Personal attribution: attribution dispositionnelle
Situational attribution: attribution situationnelle
Scapegoat: bouc émissaire