Sometimes, a work shift can feel as grueling as a day on the set of “Mean Girls.” Relational aggression is the term psychologists chose for the status-manipulating machinations that can leave colleagues isolated and excluded in the workforce.
To be sure, not every work kerfuffle or exchanged side-eye rises to the level of online harassment. In fact, most will not. Learning how you can identify truly pervasive harassment that could break the law can guide your response.
What relational aggression in the workplace may look like
Exclusion from lunch meetings and after-work drink invites can hide a darker reality. Those moments are missed opportunities for colleagues to bond and share ideas. Technically, co-workers aren’t bound to socialize, however.
But consistently being left out of email chains or meetings that pertain to work projects is another matter. Document each instance of attempted exclusion. Other relationally aggressive acts include the following:
- Sabotage – An erased voicemail, a poached client or being bad-mouthed to the boss are all different ways to sabotage work performance.
- The rumor mill – Every office has its scuttlebutt, but if your name is on the wind too often for personal crises or alleged missed deadlines, that’s a real problem.
- Stealing your work wins and ideas – Colleagues who are intimidated by your work performance might shadily leave your name off project contributions or portray your ideas as theirs.
But all the above can occur and still not qualify as workplace harassment. So, what does?
A hostile work environment
A few isolated but unpleasant incidents with co-workers will not qualify as actionable workplace harassment. But if these incidents combine to create a pervasively hostile work environment, affected employees (not just targeted victims) may be able to take legal action.