Workplace psychological violence discussed from teenage workers’ experiences

Abstract

Objective  to identify and discuss work conditions reported by young workers which could be constituted as psychological violence at work.

Methods  semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with thirty adolescent workers aged 15 to 20 years old. The data were analyzed using the hermeneutic-dialectic method.

Results  overall, participants perceived the "interpersonal relationships" at work as good, but they reported many situations of "malaise at work", which included humiliation, power abuse, embarrassment and sexual harassment, revealing occurrences of psychological violence at work. Youngsters who were more empowered and autonomous were able to deal more firmly with abusive situations, whether they were produced by coworkers or superiors.

Conclusion  adolescents entering the labor market are exposed to work conditions that can be harmful to their mental health, and social support is mainly their coping strategy. The mental health and work theme should be included in professional training and high school years as a way to contribute to the better preparedness of teenage workers, so that they could identify and develop coping strategies to deal with psychological violence.

occupational health; mental health; apprentices and trainees; psychological violence; working conditions