Moral harassment at work and the implications for mental health. This was the theme of the closing lecture of the I Week to Combat Harassment and Discrimination in the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins, held this Friday afternoon (May 27th), virtually, and presented by the Doctor Professor of Unicamp José Roberto Montes Heloani. The event, which started on Monday (May 23rd), is promoted by the Court of Justice of the State of Tocantins (TJTO) in partnership with the Superior School of the Judges of the State of Tocantins (Esmat).
According to the lecturer, balancing the management process, with deadlines and goals to be met, assuming legitimate competitiveness in work relations (without excesses and excessive charges), as well as each body understanding itself within its own reality and flow of demands, can be good ways to build a welcoming and not sickening work environment.
Professor José Roberto spoke about the need to change the paradigm of competitiveness for the paradigm of cooperation, exchange, and collaboration. "This is not an easy equation, but we are moving forward. We need to remember that working is always living together. An act of management is not, necessarily, an act of moral harassment, it is an obligation, if done in a respectful and polite way. A goal, in itself, is not harassment, but it becomes so when it is absurd, excessive. Therefore, it has to be feasible, rational. What you can't do is, because of a goal, humiliate people", he highlighted.
190 Convention
Also addressed was the International Labor Organization's (ILO) Convention No. 190 - Violence and Harassment Convention - a document whose main objective is to combat violence and harassment in the workplace worldwide. In addition to this, the lecturer cited several cases of harassment against male and female workers that led them to suicide; the growth in the number of cases of depression and mental disorders as of 2015; the subtlety in the form of remote harassment due to the Covid-19 pandemic; and reiterated that such problems are not exclusive to Brazil, but global.
Prevention and respect
“Discussing moral harassment as a risk factor for the physical and mental health of magistrates, servers, employees, as well as the damage caused to the work environment is very important. It is a sensitive subject and this lecture is a significant step towards knowing the problem and, consequently, preventing damage to the health of everyone in the Judiciary. And as the president of the Management Commission for Gender Equity, I am very concerned about the vulnerability of women in work relations. They are the biggest victims and suffer conducts that sometimes they don't even notice are considered moral harassment, such as prohibition to be absent for medical appointments, prohibition to become pregnant, among others. Thus, I congratulate the Court of Justice for debating this theme and promoting a better quality of life for everyone", said the Chief Justice, Judge Etelvina Maria Sampaio Felipe.
For the chief of staff of the Presidency of TJTO, Kênia Cristina de Oliveira, in the act representing the president of the Court, Justice João Rigo Guimarães, and the vice president of the Court and also president of the Permanent Commission for Accessibility and Inclusion (CPAI/TJTO), Justice Pedro Nelson de Miranda Coutinho, holding the event is a moment of satisfaction and great responsibility. "It is about approaching a delicate theme, but that needs to be debated, so that all together we can create a work environment that always promotes the well being of magistrates, servers, employees; a work environment that is in conformity with the management policies of the State Judiciary", she said.
The lecture, mediated by the psychiatrist Wordney Camarço, also counted with the participation of Justice Adolfo Amaro Mendes, president of the Commission for the Prevention and Confrontation of Bullying and Sexual Harassment, in the 2nd degree of the Judiciary of the State of Tocantins. After the lecture, the space was open to questions from the participants.
