職場霸凌 充滿敵意而且持續不斷的電子郵件

The emails were “hostile and constant”. Jane Allen, a sales representative for a medical company in the US, would spend half a day responding to her boss, defending herself from cruel smears. It got to the point that she would dread checking her inbox for fear of the latest humiliation. “I would see an email come in [on my phone] and I’d become physically sick.”

這些電子郵件“充滿敵意而且持續不斷”。簡•艾倫(Jane Allen)是一家美國醫藥公司的銷售代表，她會花半天時間回覆自己的老闆，保護自己免受痛苦的羞辱。她已經到了懼怕查看收件箱的地步，因爲害怕遭受新的羞辱。“我一看到（我的手機）收到新郵件，就會感到身體不適。”

With children and a mortgage to pay, Ms Allen, who does not want to use her real name, felt unable to quit her job. So she stuck it out until she could find a new position.

由於要撫養孩子並支付抵押貸款，艾倫（化名）覺得不能辭掉工作。所以她堅持忍耐，直至找到一份新工作。

“I felt like I was in a battlefield. Always on the defence and the bullets were fired at me.” Ultimately, it affected her ability to sleep, hit her confidence hard and led to depression.

“我感覺像是置身於戰場。總處於守勢，子彈總射向我。”最終，這影響到了她的睡眠，嚴重打擊了她的自信，致使她患上了抑鬱症。

Ms Allen, who is now employed elsewhere and is considering taking her previous employer to court, feels that the emails were a form of cyberbullying, and different from conventional workplace bullying.

如今已找到新工作的艾倫，正在考慮將以前的僱主告上法庭。她認爲那些電子郵件是一種網絡霸凌(cyberbullying)，只是與傳統的職場霸凌不同罷了。

Emails are particularly pernicious, she says, as they are there to be read and reread. It meant that Ms Allen — who depended on her phone to keep in touch with head office and colleagues while out on the road — felt her persecutor was always with her.

她說，那些郵件危害尤其嚴重，因爲它們可以被反覆地閱讀。這意味着艾倫——出門在外時依靠自己的手機與總部及同事們保持聯繫——時刻都能感受到施害者的存在。

Researchers typically define workplace cyberbullying as a situation where an individual is repeatedly subjected to perceived negative acts conducted through technology — email, websites, social media — that are related to their work context. Samuel Farley of the Institute of Work Psychology at Sheffield University management school in the UK, is researching the issue.

研究人員通常將職場網絡霸凌定義爲這樣一種情形，即一個人反覆承受可感知到的、通過與他們的工作環境有關的科技手段（電子郵件、網站及社交媒體）實施的負面行爲。英國謝菲爾德大學(Sheffield University)管理學院職場心理學研究所(Institute of Work Psychology)的塞繆爾•法利(Samuel Farley)正在研究這個問題。

In the UK, the conciliation service Acas elaborates on how this might manifest itself in social media: “Inappropriate photographs, of­fensive or threatening comments or sensitive personal information might be posted vindictively. A manager or an employee might be targeted. The victim may, or may not, be aware that they are being bullied.” For example, while they are likely to see a threat that is emailed to them, they may not see comments about them on a social networking site.

在英國，調解服務機構Acas闡述了網絡霸凌如何在社交媒體上呈現：“不雅照片、攻擊性或威脅性的評論，以及敏感的個人信息，都可能被惡意發佈。經理或員工都可能成爲受攻擊的目標。受害者可能會意識到他們受到了欺辱，也可能不會。”例如，雖然他們很可能會看到通過電郵發來的威脅，但他們可能不會看到社交網站上對他們的評論。

Gary Namie, a social psychologist and director of the Workplace Bullying Institute in the US, says cyberbullies are often aggressive in a way they never would be face to face: “Technology makes it so much easier to be hateful and cruel from a distance.”

美國職場霸凌學會(Workplace Bullying Institute)會長、社會心理學家加里•奈美(Gary Namie)說，網絡霸凌的攻擊性常常是面對面交流達不到的：“科技使人們更容易遠距離地表現出仇恨和殘忍。”

Unlike bullying in person, the fact that we carry our smartphones around with us means that cyberbullies can penetrate the safe havens of people’s homes.

與面對面霸凌不同，我們隨身攜帶智能手機的事實意味着網絡霸凌可以穿透家這個“安全港”。

In some cases a cyberbully can be anonymous, unlike in Ms Allen’s situation where the perpetrator was clearly traceable.

某些情況下，一種霸凌行爲可以是匿名的，與艾倫的情況不同，她的施害者顯然是可以查出的。

Mr Farley says that technology may exacerbate aggressive behaviour. “When you work remotely there is a problem of de-individuation — you focus on screens and become less empathetic. It can lead you to send something you wouldn’t say to their face.”

法利說，科技可能會加劇攻擊性行爲。“當你進行遠程操控時，就會出現去個體化的問題——你緊盯着屏幕，而且變得不那麼願意體恤別人的感受。這可能會導致你發送一些你不會當面對他們說出的話。”

Nancy Willard, who works in the US on anti-bullying campaigns for children, agrees. “Technology tends to inc­rease the emotional tenor. There’s potentially a greater audience — online, more people might see it.”

美國致力於兒童反霸凌行動的南希•威拉德(Nancy Willard)贊同這一觀點。“科技傾向於增加情感衝動。潛在的觀衆數量極大——在線上，更多人可能會看到它。”

Many victims suffer in silence, says Mr Farley, because they perceive cyberbullying as an issue affecting younger people in school rather than working adults. Consequently, it may be an under-reported issue in the office.

法利說，許多受害者都默默忍受，因爲他們覺得網絡霸凌只是影響在校年輕人的問題，而對職場成年人影響不大。因此，職場中的這一問題可能被忽視了。

“No one knows what the levels are,” he adds.

“沒有人知道程度如何，”他補充說。

Anastasia de Waal, deputy director at think-tank Civitas, says the consistent theme is that “cyberbullying is very difficult to control and can spread quickly”.

英國智庫Civitas副主任阿納斯塔西婭•德瓦爾(Anastasia de Waal)說，不變的主題是“網絡霸凌非常難以控制，且可以迅速傳播”。

If you think you are the target, she says, keep a record: “It’s a good way to observe a pattern.” And ultimately, to report it to your employer.

她說，如果你認爲自己成了別人的目標，記錄下來：“這是觀察某種模式的好方法。”而最後，一定要向僱主報告此事。