Tackle implicit humiliation at work

Nayamat Bawa

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Anil remembers how enthusiastic he was at 23 when he joined his present company right after his MBA. He hailed from a village and therefore had a slightly different accent than his city peers. His supervisor would comment before any key presentation ‘Anil you can leave it as the audience will not be able to understand what you are saying’ or ‘it won’t have an impact’.

He was always told not to speak or give presentation even when he had worked very hard for it. He was left to feel bruised and humiliated. People remembered him as a happy go lucky but everything seemed to have changed. He now spoke very little, barely audible. He lacked confidence and his self-esteem had taken a blow. He was a complete wreck in front of his boss; he would stammer, fumble and would feel so anxious that he would start trembling and sweating. Needless to say that his professional life was taking a big toll on his married life, too. He could see himself slipping into depression.

Many of us can relate to what Anil went though. Implicit humiliation can be very damaging for a person and that’s why it is imperative for managers to keep a watch for it in their teams and check any such behaviour in time.

What is implicit humiliation?

It is persistent patterns of causing humiliation to a person in a subtle and implicit manner on the basis of their appearance, sex, physical attributes, accent, caste, conduct, attitudes, personal choices or even repeatedly alienating the person from social as well as official gatherings.

It can be in the form of a verbal comment or merely a gesture. Often in a workplace, this goes completely unnoticed as it is very subtle keeping in mind the norms and rules of the organisation.

In a large number of cases, it is the person in authority who engages in mocking or picking on the person, resulting in humiliation and despair. It makes a person feel embarrassed, crushes their self-esteem and makes them feel helpless. There are very few who empathise with a person going through implicit humiliation as they feel it is in ‘good humour’ and they don’t have to behave live a ‘cry baby’. This further enhances the feel of incompetence and self-doubt.

The corporate world is completely infested with such unethical workplace practices. Cracking up at the expense of someone else can have a long-term and devastating effect on the person. The pressures of having a regular income and job security are so intense that one can never think of quitting. Even more humiliating is to face family and friends and tell them that you quit a job as your boss feels you are ‘PMSing’ when angry or your colleagues call you ‘Chinki’ due to your ethnicity.

More and more people suffer from anxiety, depression, acute stress and many other psychological issues. It takes such a toll on one’s self-esteem and confidence that symptoms of social phobia start surfacing. This also has a negative impact on an organisation as it spoils the work environment, increases absenteeism and also increases the employee turn-over, directly affecting the productivity of just not individuals but the organisation as a whole. Implicit humiliation is prevalent and affects many organisations. This evil should be nipped in the bud for better workplace.

How it can be managed

As a manager who falls in the middle of an organisational hierarchy, it is important that you identify the ills of implicit humiliation and try to bring about a change. Here are tips that can help you bring the change and fight implicit humiliation or workplace bullying:

1 Always be vigilant: In order to curb implicit humiliation, it is important that you are vigilant and keep a close watch on how your subordinates and seniors behave with other employees.

2 Lead by example: Senior or junior treat one and all with respect and dignity. This should be your effort in improving the work environment. Remember a small effort can go a long way.

3 Check unacceptable behaviour: In order to banish implicit humiliation it is important that you identify unacceptable behaviour and convey to the person the reasons why it is unacceptable and also how it may be affecting the person in question and its negative impact on the work environment. However this must be done with utmost care.

4 Be empathetic: In order to help your colleagues deal with workplace behavioural hazards, it is important that you understand how they might be feeling about being targeted. Also empathise with them. Let them know that it is not their fault.

5 Be assertive: If you feel that a certain ‘joke’ or ‘comment’ was uncalled for, voice your concern in a non-aggressive manner. Do not hesitate even if it involves your superior as they can be wrong too at times.

6 Work on group coerciveness: Many times the ‘bully’ takes the target as a threat and thus goes on to pick on the person in such a way that the other person’s ego is ruptured. They take great pleasure in the discomfort it puts the other person in. This certainly is a warning sign of brewing conflicts. It is important that you work on team building and reduce conflicts.

7 Lay down rules for appropriate communication: With a set of rules it gets easier for people to understand what is the expected conduct and adhere to it.

8 Sensitise your team about implicit humiliation: In order for it to stop, it is important your team recognises what implicit humiliation is and how it can affect the person, it can be a very negative life-changing event.

9 Create avenues for reporting unacceptable behaviour: Create a grievance box where people can drop in their grievances about being bullied or unjustly treated at the workplace. This will give everyone an avenue to express their hurt and feel that they are being heard.

— The writer is Senior Counseling Psychologist at ePsyClinic.com