How to Prevent Psychological Violence Through Successful Reputational Risk Management

Pavlidi: From a legal perspective – what is considered as violence or mobbing at work? How can one distinguish violence from legally acceptable behaviour? For example, could negative feedback to a colleague be considered as psychological violence?
 
Karvelė:  Under the Lithuanian Labour Code violence has a very broad definition. In short, this is an unacceptable action or inaction that has the effect (or purpose) of making a physical, mental, sexual, or economic impact related to work on another person or persons, as a result of which an employee suffers or may suffer non-material or material damage. The key question in qualifying certain situations is “how”, not “what”.  For example, it’s not the content of a certain communication that’s important, but the way this communication has been expressed.

Speaking about negative feedback from a manager to a subordinate, imagine two possible scenarios. In the first, a manager speaks with an angry raised voice to an employee who failed at a task, stating he is very disappointed, the employee has made too many mistakes, and now the company may lose a good client. This is done in front of other colleagues.
In the second scenario, the manager invites the employee to have a one-to-one meeting, calmly lists the specific mistakes made by the employee, asks what happened, and encourages them to ask for help from colleagues next time if they are facing any difficulties.  

As you can see, in both situations the manager gives negative feedback to the employee. However, in the first case this feedback is provided in a humiliating and aggressive manner, which could be considered as psychological violence. And in the second case, the feedback is given politely and correctly and although it may be not pleasant for the employee, such feedback should not be considered as improper behaviour or psychological violence.
 
Pavlidi: Recently the media has been full of stories about mobbing or psychological violence at work with people recounting how they often feel harassed or humiliated. Is it true that the cases of violence in the workplace are increasing?

Karvelė This topic has been very relevant recently. As a litigation lawyer in employment law, I have represented clients in disputes related to violence at work more times in the last two years than during my whole 20-year career.  
 
According to a recent State Labour Inspectorate report the Inspectorate received approximately 300 claims regarding psychological violence at work in the last year – a 154% increase on the number of claims in 2021 (118 claims).  This implies the volume of violence at work is increasing. However, the statistics provide a skewed impression – it’s not that violence has increased necessarily, it’s just our attitudes towards it have changed considerably, and we are less tolerant of it. Work culture is rapidly changing and things that didn’t seem to matter several years ago such as impolite conversations or insulting jokes, have become much more unacceptable today.

Pavlidi:  Can you provide some examples of why things have changed?

Karvelė: Our change in attitude has come about because there were amends to legal regulations which established additional obligations for employers with regards to violence in the workplace.  As such, employees have become better educated and less tolerant with regards to any form of aggression at work. For example, 10 years ago it was quite normal for a manager to raise his or her voice if an employee failed to perform tasks. However, today such a situation could result in the manager’s dismissal.

Furthermore, several years ago employees were afraid to raise issues related to psychological violence because they did not receive proper support from either the management or from the courts. Today the situation is totally different – most employers place significant importance on maintaining a positive psychological environment at work. We see many cases of companies choosing to dismiss employees due to their unacceptable behaviour towards their colleagues even though they are highly skilled and the perfect candidate for the position.

Pavlidi:  How can an employer ensure that all employees behave correctly? It’s not possible to control everyone’s behaviour?

Karvelė:  The answer with regards to an employer’s ability to control its employee’s is yes and no.  From a legal perspective the employer has two main ways to help control situations. Firstly, they should employ preventive measures.  There are several methods from implementing a code of ethics or a violence prevention policy, to setting-up channels to submit claims, and performing regular training for all employees. Secondly, the employer should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to any form of violence, unethical communication, or discrimination.  It is very important not to underestimate any situation or claim, and to investigate them, speaking carefully to anyone who declares to have been harassed or mobbed.  This helps to build trust amidst the workforce, and when a safe and friendly environment is created the benefits of it are unlimited: perfect employer reputation, increased productivity – happy employees work better, and a reduction in disputes and legal claims against the company for suffering psychological violence, are just a few of them.


Pavlidi: What impact might an incident of violence in the workplace have on a company’s reputation?

Karvelė:  There is a direct link between the working environment and a company’s public reputation. And the price of losing a good reputation can be very high.

We live in the age of social media and anything negative can spread like wildfire. Employees who believe they have been treated improperly and/or did not receive a proper reaction from management tend to broadcast such situations on their social feeds meaning it can be very difficult for a company to keep unpleasant situations confidential. And, although employees have often signed confidentiality agreements, such agreements do not fully prevent employees from publishing their feelings about unjust behaviour at work.  This can have a seriously damaging effect on a company’s public reputation with knock on effects for the business.

Violations of legal obligations most often have a concrete monetary price as well.  Unresolved situations can lead to high litigations expenses, payments to the employees for moral damages, and even losing profitable contracts if commercial partners apply high ethical standards to their counterparts.


Pavlidi: And what about reputation in terms of attracting and retaining the best talent?

Karvelė: Generations X, Y, and Z have entered the employment market and they are renowned for stringently upholding their values. We often see situations where the main factor of choosing an employer is not the salary – it’s the working environment, management’s attitude to its people, the ability to grow and so on that matters to them most. As such, they are unwilling to work for a company that tolerates psychological violence of any kind at work.

In addition, one of the key elements of ESG compliance is social governance including the prevention of any violence at work.  The more we speak about ESG fulfilment the greater the awareness of employees and future employees of such topics.  This in turn increases the importance of such factors for them and makes them more likely to seek out a company who adheres to the rules.  Failure to comply with ESG could mean losing out on attracting and retaining the best talent, which in turn affects a company’s reputation.

About Jurgita Karvelė:
Jurgita Karvelė is an Attorney-at-law at Sorainen, one of the leading law firms in the Baltics. She specialises in employment and dispute resolution and is well-known in the market for her expertise and for sharing insights with the media. Jurgita is also one of the contributors to the new Labour Code of Lithuania.

Recently, Jurgita has been advising clients on violence prevention in the workplace and conducting training sessions for organisations on this topic. She is ranked among the leading experts for employment in Lithuania by international law directories.

About Sorainen:
Founded in 1995, Sorainen is an international business law firm.  With 46 partners and more than 250 lawyers and tax specialists, the firm has worked on many significant mandates for international and local clients.