Maintaining a good atmosphere in the workplace is a challenge not only for the employer but also and above all for the employees who spend a large part of their day behind the desk.
In both large and small companies, one aspect not to be underestimated is precisely that of psychological violence exerted by colleagues and/or superiors towards another employee. Such aggressive behavior, if prolonged over time and if detrimental to the personal and professional dignity of the employee, is called Mobbing.
Often, the practice of Mobbing is even exercised directly by the employer in order to induce the victim, through psychological or physical violence, to leave their job, rather than resorting to dismissal.
Workplace mobbing is a problem that can be difficult to delineate and define, but fortunately, there are some remedies for the employee to defend themselves against those continuous and repeated persecutory behaviors.
Mobbing can be identified when aggressive behaviors persist for more than 6 months and when they are aimed at excluding the employee, causing a series of psycho/physical repercussions.
There are several types of mobbing, the main ones being:
- Hierarchical Mobbing: In this category, the \"mobber,\" the person practicing mobbing actions, is a boss or executive, someone who holds a higher position than the victim. The typical attitudes of hierarchical mobbing are attributable to abuse of power, namely an excessive and unlawful use of power itself.
- Horizontal Mobbing: This is practiced by colleagues towards an employee who is denigrated and excluded from the work organization for reasons such as personality, religion, sexuality, etc.
- Down-Up Mobbing: In this case, the mobber is in a lower position than the victim. The authority of a boss is questioned by their employees, generating a sort of generalized professional mutiny.
Faced with psycho/physical violence perpetrated over time, the victim has the right to defend themselves against mobbing practices by seeking assistance from a highly qualified legal professional. Although there is currently no specific anti-mobbing law in Italy, there are still provisions in our legal system to refer to.
Analyzing some articles of the Italian Constitution, it can be noted that Article 32 recognizes and protects health as a fundamental right of humans, while Article 35 protects work in all its forms and applications. However, the most important is undoubtedly Article 41, which prohibits private economic activities that may harm the safety, freedom, and dignity of humans.
Furthermore, in the Italian civil code, there are two provisions that can protect victims of mobbing behaviors:
- Article 2043: Compensation for tortious acts: provides that any intentional or negligent act causing unjust harm to others obliges the perpetrator to compensate for the damage.
- Article 2087: Establishes that the employer has the obligation to adopt all measures to protect the physical and moral integrity of employees.
Mobbing, if it escalates into excessively violent behaviors, can also be condemned as a criminal offense: in this case, the victim, to defend themselves, can find protection in the Italian criminal code, specifically Article 590 regarding unintentional personal injury.
With particular reference to workplace mobbing, in the absence of specific legislation that precisely outlines the illicit behaviors to be considered as mobbing, to date, it is not possible to establish a unique criterion to determine such behaviors.
However, to fill this gap, jurisprudence has intervened, establishing that all forms of harassment and bullying perpetrated by one or more colleagues and/or by hierarchical superiors against a weaker individual fall within the category of mobbing. This includes public humiliation, spreading false information, and verbal abuse. Examples of mobbing include excluding the employee from training initiatives, failure to assign work tasks, or deliberately withholding useful information related to a specific task to be performed.
A particular case of workplace mobbing is Bossing, which occurs when violent and harmful behaviors are exercised towards a worker not only by a superior but also by all other employees, who prefer to comply with the boss instead of defending the victim.
In cases where, due to workplace mobbing, the victim develops genuine psycho-physical pathologies, it is possible to request compensation for damages. The damages for which compensation can be sought include both pecuniary damages (related to the amount of money spent on the treatments the victim has undergone) and non-pecuniary damages (i.e., damages consisting of injury to health or other interests considered by the Constitution, such as freedom of thought).
If you are looking for a Mobbing lawyer in Milan who can help you defend yourself against violent behavior towards you, the Mazzotta law firm can provide you with the legal assistance necessary for your case.