© Frank Elsen / RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg
Around 10% of the 400,000 people working in Luxembourg have been subjected to workplace bullying at some point in their career, with 100 cases in Luxembourg recorded last year the Mobbing Association reported Wednesday.
Monique Breisch from the Mobbing Association stated that this figure only represents the tip of the iceberg. The association aims to find amicable solution to help those in toxic work environments.
66 women and 34 men turned to the mobbing association for help during 2017. For the most part, they were Luxembourg nationals working in the commerce and finance sector. The banking industry is especially infamous for its "sharp-elbow" approach, Breisch said.
Especially after mergers,many people reported being bullied to the point of having to leave their job. The commerce sector is known not only for exploiting its employees, but mobbing is also an issue here.
Small private-sector businesses that employ between 10 and 19 people are especially susceptible to workplace bullying, Breisch said. The victims of mobbing often have to deal with issues such as stress, anxiety and depression. Symptoms can last for a long time and many people never truly get over the experience.
In most cases, victims of mobbing are socially isolated by their colleagues. On average, they miss around 7 weeks of work because of the stress related to a toxic work environment, which amounts to a loss of around €95 million to Luxembourg's economy.
Employment minister Nicolas Schmit explained that in Belgium and Germany, laws are in place to protect victims of workplace bullying. In Luxembourg, a draft law is finally in the works, but Schmit stated that it would not pass into law before the end of his tenure in October 2018.
Schmit stated that there should be a zero-tolerance policy for workplace bullying and that businesses should do more to address the issue internally.
