"It is very hard to say this, but we still have a percentage between 17% and 19% of cases in which people say they were the target of threats or other forms of abuse, physical or psychological, with insults, or that they were left out. It is a lot", said Tânia Gaspar de Matos, who coordinated the study that will be presented today on healthy work environments.

The researcher said that there is a lack of literacy about harassment in the workplace and gave an example: "When I give this data back to the organizations, they are always surprised".

"It also has to do with literacy, it is a cultural issue. Sometimes people say: 'that's just the way they are'. But it cannot be", she noted, stating that, fortunately, the younger generations "are not into this".

The psychologist said that women are more affected by harassment in the workplace and stated that, often, the victim "still has doubts about whether she is interpreting it correctly".

She insists on the importance of teaching what harassment is, how it can manifest itself and what consequences it has for people's mental health.

"In schools, people started talking more about bullying and things improved (...). If we had not taken that path [of talking about bullying], this would not have happened", she exemplified.

Tânia Gaspar de Matos mentioned that those who suffer from harassment often "do not complain because they think that [the complaint] will be put in a drawer, or that they will still be harmed" and defended the existence of a reporting channel, "transparent and external to the company", so that the person "feels safe" in the process.

"Even when the complaint goes forward and the organization accepts it, there is another legal problem: either there are no witnesses, or the harassment has to be proven, which is not easy", she added.

The psychologist said that "there is a victim profile", emphasizing that more assertive people are less exposed to risk.

"It is necessary to promote skills in people to be more assertive and have more confidence, gaining tools to combat these situations", she defended.

Harassment can involve intentional, offensive and repeated actions or comments intended to deliberately demean the victim or cause personal humiliation and, sometimes, it can also include social isolation and intentional exclusion, constant and disproportionate criticism, excessive control or even threats of dismissal or other reprisals, she explained.

She clarified that moral harassment can be ascending (from the subordinate to the hierarchical superior) or descending, between colleagues or organizational, which is what happens when an organization's culture, policies and practices promote or tolerate abusive and discriminatory behaviors.

Moral harassment in the workplace "affects the mental health and well-being of professionals from a biopsychosocial perspective", she said, noting that it can cause feelings of excessive anxiety and 'negative stress' caused by a perception of lack of control or inability to deal with a certain situation.

It can also lead to situations of difficulty in concentration and memory, sleep disorders, symptoms of sadness or depression, more or less severe, as well as physical and mental exhaustion ('burnout') and, in extreme cases, suicidal thoughts.

Women, workers with lower education, professionals with chronic diseases, in the civil service, belonging to generations X (43 to 59 years old) and Y (29 to 44 years old) and those who work in larger organizations are those who are at greater risk.

Read Also: Mental health of professionals should be a concern for companies, says study (Portuguese version)