Mobbing is on the rise; here’s how we prevent it at NoA

Understanding the rise in mobbing

The two pillars of the modern corporate workplace, diversity and inclusion, are promoted across the board at all levels to create a wholesome environment for everyone to work in. Yet, surprisingly, workplace mobbing is on the rise!

Results of the report "Mobbing in Polish companies. Second edition – 2023 vs. 2022” prepared jointly by UCE RESEARCH and the epsycholodzy.pl platform are terrifying!

Source: report "Mobbing in Polish companies. Second edition – 2023 vs. 2022”

The rate of mobbing behaviour is higher than last year (41.4% in 2023 compared to 40% a year earlier), and the problem of various forms of harassment in the workplace most affects people aged 18-24 - more than half of them were victims of mobbing.

More than half?! That's every second person! How is this even possible?

Identifying and addressing mobbing

So, what can we do about it?

The first step is to identify mobbing behaviour. The report highlights the following behaviours as the most commonly reported by participants:

• Receiving meaningless tasks from your superiors.
• Backbiting and gossiping in the workplace.
• Receiving conflicting instructions.
• Jealousy and envy from co-workers.
• Screaming, swearing and insults.

The uptick in reporting could be explained by increased awareness of mobbing behaviour. In the past, mobbing might have gone unnoticed, unregistered, and unreported. However, as a new generation of progressive young people join the workforce, they are bringing with them higher standards of acceptable behaviour. While this increase in awareness partly explains the rise in reported cases, it still highlights that these behaviours persist and that we still have steps to take towards true inclusivity.

And what can we, leaders, do to counteract mobbing? Above all, monitor, respond and take action. And it's best to prevent it.

• Let's monitor the environment in which we work.
• Let's create, implement and enforce appropriate anti-mobbing policies.
• Let's expand our knowledge about mobbing and educate our colleagues.
• Let's promote a workplace culture of equality, respect and inclusion.
• Let's take care of a safe space for communication.
• Let's react and take appropriate action.

Do not allow mobbing in the workplace by making it unacceptable and inadmissible.

NoA’s anti-mobbing commitment

Here at NoA, first and foremost, we have zero tolerance for mobbing, bullying and harassment!

The ethical standards introduced in the organisation, regulations supporting our work environment and our organisational culture, as well as those supporting the social responsibility of each of us clearly indicate that as NoA, we will constantly strive to be honest and loyal, and we will treat clients and colleagues with respect, without envy, jealousy, backbiting, gossip, swearing and insults.

We believe that we all bear social responsibility for our actions. We expect our employees to behave in an exemplary and non-offensive manner towards other people. We strongly and clearly oppose violence, hatred, sexism, and racism. At NoA, we offer multiple reporting channels, including an anonymous form, to support our employees. Learn more about safe reporting at NoA.

Our basic goal is to make our office a place where everyone feels good, according to the principle, "Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you." If we all remember this and try to make people care, it will positively influence our work environment. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where every employee can freely express their opinions and concerns, knowing they will be heard and considered.

We value our culture and the opportunities it brings. Respect, openness, transparency, and honesty build a culture of trust, and this is what we care about the most. Here at NoA that we ensure that interpersonal relationships are based on respect, empathy and cooperation.

A key element of our organizational culture is cooperation with People Partner, based on transparency, honesty and trust. Open communication between employees, represented by the People Partner and the management, is critical to building positive relationships and resolving conflicts constructively and fairly.

We also periodically examine the well-being of our employees here at NoA. We want to rely on the true feelings of our employees, not just act on our intuition. We want each of you to develop well at NoA and be satisfied with your work. We want to improve the well-being of our employees in our company and give them the confidence that their problems will be listened to. We also want to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of our work.

We attach great importance to ensuring that every NoA employee can develop in an environment free from abuse or discrimination. We operate by our ethical standards and support social responsibility to make our company a place where everyone feels respected, appreciated and safe.