War is declared

Anne and Xavier work for a publishing company of 65 workers, whose main activity consists of bringing out a daily newspaper. The events took place within one of the administrative teams, consisting of 7 employees responsible for tasks related to accounting. The development of a journalism sector through and on the internet nevertheless adapted the content of the department’s work content. Because of his computer science skills, Xavier took over this domain and introduced a large number of technological innovations. Even though involved in these changes Anne continued to work on traditional tasks. This employee claims to have been harassed for years by her colleague, Xavier. A few months ago she filed a complaint against him with the human resources management section, which then called upon the University of Liège team.

Major signposts

The nine people who gravitated around this allegation of harassment were met in an interview situation, sometimes several times, by Professor Faulx. These meetings lasted from thirty minutes to an hour and a half. They touched upon four levels determined by the Liège model: in other words they included ‘personal’ questions related to Anne and Xavier, ‘interpersonal’ questions concerning the evolution of the relationship between the two protagonists, ‘group’ related questions on the inter-relational dynamics of the relationships between Anne and Xavier and their colleagues. Finally they broached the management and the relationships within the company.

The interviews were then transcribed and classified within a model which allowed the researchers to see to what extent the statements overlapped, matched or contradicted each other. ‘We could thus place the accent on several interpretations of our case study and draw lessons from it,’ specifies Adélaïde Blavier.

An autopsy of the characters

There is no doubt about it: Anne and Xavier have nothing in common. They know it themselves, and their colleagues confirm it. ‘They are like chalk and cheese,’ admits André. One is more concerned by the human side of things, the other focuses on the work. Xavier is described as ‘cold, lacking empathy, intolerant, nasty.’ But on a professional level there is no doubt about his abilities and they are unanimously praised. Nonetheless his colleagues also recount his tendency to impose his working methods on others. As Professor Blavier stresses, the description of Xavier by those in contact with him highlights personality traits which are often found in harassers.

Xavier’s own view of himself is highly instructive. He does not hide the fact that his rigour and professionalism goes hand in hand with a direct and unsubtle manner. For him, what is white is white, what is black is black. Moreover, what counts first and foremost is the job, and nothing but that. In his eyes his character traits, far from being ‘faults,’ should be ranked amongst the qualities and attributes of a good professional...

A change of scenery

Since they started working together in the same department, the relationship between Xavier and Anne has evolved. Non conflictual at the beginning, it subsequently deteriorated rapidly. At first Anne tried to adapt. She held her tongue, to avoid making the situation worse or annoying others. ‘A situation based on control established itself,’ observes Professor Adélaïde Blavier. ‘He was always telling me that I was useless. He acted as if I didn’t exist. […] It made me ill,’ confirms Anne.

Described in such a way, the background means that the relationship tilts rather towards an asymmetric one between the two characters (and one marked by harassment). Xavier however describes a symmetrical and equitable relationship with his colleague. ‘My behaviour,’ he insists, ‘was not meant to be hurtful: it was humour, sarcasm, irony. She had the feeling that she was being put down, but that wasn’t my aim.’ In addition he puts forward a disconcerting argument: he also had good reasons to complain! In effect, he claims, for two years Anne’s only aim was to lead a campaign against him. He was merely reacting and paid the cost.

On this point Xavier hardly gains the support of his colleagues: all of them highlight the hostile character of Xavier’s behaviour towards Anne. And never the opposite. But they also report – as does Anne – that, recently, the situation has changed and the process of one dominating the other has tended to diminish.