Workplace psychological abuse is about power and control: mistreatment that often results in anxiety, depression, stress-related symptoms, PTSD, and even suicidal ideation. When we report abuse to HR or higher-ups, they typically ignore or retaliate against us as the toxic organization’s goal is to avoid liability and position targets as the problem. This move continues the false narrative and adds to our betrayal trauma when those expected to help us and their organizations turn against us. Anti-discrimination law has done little to adequately help mistreated workers. Yet workplace psychological abuse affects people of color and women at much higher rates because we operate in a system built on stereotypes to reinforce power.
We’re introducing the Workplace Psychological Safety Act to hold employers accountable for abuse at work and to give more rights to workers, especially people of color and women. The bill will give targets legal recourse. It goes after behaviors rather than discriminatory intent, gives employers realistic deadlines for addressing reported abuse, and requires employers to report rates of turnover, stress leave, and other data so we can stop pretending these incidents are isolated and acknowledge the systemic discrimination and bias behind them.
Help fund these crucial needs so we can continue this vital work, with active bills in Massachusetts and Oregon and bills in the works in Rhode Island and Texas:
- Printed marketing materials (packets for legislators and flyers for the public). To build support for legislation in our state houses and with the public so voters contact their state legislators, we need to print flyers so we can create enough noise to validate workers and give them permission to speak up. Give to help us print flyers in key states.
- Billboards. Where we have active bills, we hope to bring attention to the issue of workplace bullying and mobbing and the bill through billboards. Give to help us fund a billboard in two states.
- Textbanking. Texting potential supporters in states where we have active bills helps us both spread the word and encourage immediate action. Give to help us fund texting thousands of potential supporters.
Let’s end the silent epidemic together so we can make “workplace abuse” a household term, bring relief to hundreds of thousands of targeted workers, and make our workplaces psychologically safer.
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