Univerzita Tomáše Bati ve Zlíně

Undesirable Behaviour

Tomas Bata University in Zlín does not tolerate any form of undesirable behaviour.

Undesirable behaviour (in the concept of social safety) refers to bullying, aggression, coercion, intimidation, harassment and violence (sexual and gender-based) and discrimination based on any ground (age, nationality, gender, religion, political affiliation, social and economic conditions, etc.).

The concept of “social safety” may also include other negative phenomena, the list of which is by no means final (e.g. plagiarism, malicious gossip, humiliation, swearing, sabotage, etc.).

We require and expect all individuals at TBU (students and employees), including persons who visit TBU, contractual partners and other persons engaged in any activity at TBU, to treat each other with civility, dignity and respect, and to be polite.

At TBU, we strive to create a workplace, a learning and social environment where the rights and dignity of all members of the academic community and at all levels of the university are respected.

For TBU in Zlín, the following aspects are crucial:

• promoting a safe environment, in which all individuals are treated fairly and with respect;
• a declaration that undesirable behaviour is completely unacceptable, and all members of the TBU academic community contribute to a safe environment, free from any form of undesirable behaviour;
• providing support to students and employees who feel harassed by undesirable behaviour;
• setting up of a clearly defined mechanism for dealing with complaints.

Everyone has a personal responsibility to comply with these morals and principles:

• treating others with dignity and respect;
• zero tolerance for undesirable behaviour and, if anyone witnesses such behaviour, he/she should report the incident;
• support for any person who feels that he/she is a victim of undesirable behaviour, including facilitation of external support and psychological help for filing a formal complaint, if necessary.

The below mentioned forms of conduct may negatively affect the learning and working environment, atmosphere between students and teachers in classes or between employees and their superiors, or between students and employees. That is why at TBU we have been supporting and will continue to support the prevention of negative behaviour and conduct issues such as:

DISCRIMINATIONSEXUALIZED ANG GENDER-BASED VIOLENCEBULLYINGSTALKING IMPACT

Discrimination

Discrimination refers to “an act, including omission, where one person is treated less favourably than another is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation, on grounds of race, ethnic origin, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief or opinions, and, secondly, in legal relations in which a directly applicable regulation of the European Union on free movement for workers shall apply, including on grounds of nationality.” – Act No. 198/2009 Coll., on Equal Treatment and on Legal Means of Protection against Discrimination and on Amendments to Some Acts (the Anti-Discrimination Act).

Type of discrimination:

• Direct discrimination – an act where one person is treated less favourably than another person in a comparable situation, for reasons prohibited by law (is related to individuals).
• Indirect discrimination – an act where one person is treated less favourably on the basis of a criterion that is seemingly neutral.

Examples of discrimination:

• ridiculing, parodying or humiliating due to age, race or other personal characteristics;
• sending or posting material that others may find offensive (e-mails, text messages, videos, images);
• verbal or physical behaviour that diminishes dignity, is hostile to someone, or expresses disgust based on personal characteristics;
• shunning, e.g. intentional exclusion of an individual from a conversation or work activity due to his/her personal characteristics;
• offensive or intimidating remarks, gestures, insensitive jokes that undermine someone’s dignity, malicious gossip;
• unwanted, unsolicited and inappropriate physical contact (stroking, slapping, rubbing against someone, etc.), unsolicited or inappropriate staring (e.g. looking at cleavage).

Sexualized and gender-based violence

In general, it can be defined as inappropriate and undesirable behaviour with a sexual subtext, the essence of which is (like in other types of harassment) an effort to gain, increase or demonstrate one’s superiority over another person.  

Gender-based violence includes any acts of physical, sexual, psychological, economic or other forms of violence targeted at women because they are women, or at men because they are men, and/or, by analogy, at other gender identities, or acts of such violence that disproportionately affect women or men or persons of other gender identities.

Sexualized violence is defined as an effort to acquire, increase or assert one’s superiority over another person by using sexuality as an instrument of power. This includes, for example, unsolicited sexual attention or sexual blackmail and coercion.

Specifically, this may include, for example:

• sexual advances;
• offering exchange of benefits for intimacy, or threatening in case of rejection (e.g. award of a course credit/good grade, granting of an exam pass, promotion, financial reward, or other benefits);
• intimate touches;
• sharing of intimate photos;
• various forms of psychological coercion, such as gender differentiation;
• materials depicting people as sexual objects;
• posting and distribution of pornographic materials;
• inappropriate remarks about someone’s body and appearance;
• ticklish jokes;
• demeaning or embarrassing remarks;
• seeking attention by sending annoying e-mails;
• expressing an offensive, hostile or degrading attitude towards a specific gender;
• swearing, ridiculing and sexually suggestive gestures;
• bullying, threatening and hostile behaviour;
• abusive, undesirable and unrequited verbal and nonverbal behaviour;
• physical assault.

Bullying

Bullying is any conduct that is intended to harm, threaten, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of persons. Bullying is a serious aggressive behavioural disorder occurring in a social environment and is not limited in terms of age. The basic signs of bullying include intentionality, repetition, longevity, imbalance of power (the so-called power asymmetry), hostile conduct likely to escalate aggression over time.

Types of bullying

• Unconscious – The purpose is usually not to cause harm, but, for example, to force a student/employee to achieve a certain academic/work performance in a gross way. The consequences are the same as in the case of conscious bullying, however, this type is much easier to deal with.
• Conscious – The purpose is to intentionally harm an individual, in an effort to eliminate him/her, the attacks intensify.
• Pathological – The purpose is to cause strategic damage to an individual; the attacker often attacks also other people.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying has many features in common with the traditional form of bullying, but it has several specific features which make it very dangerous because it often takes place in anonymity, has a viral reach and a higher degree of intrusiveness (impact on personal, private and professional life).

Bullying at workplace (mobbing, bossing, staffing)

Bossing is bullying by a superior and includes the following acts:

• exaggerated control of the fulfilment of professional duties or attendance;
• long-term excessive overtime, preventing the use of annual leave;
• arrogant behaviour and verbal insults;
• underestimation of work performance, or frequent and unjustified criticism;
• ridiculing a person in front of his/her colleagues;
• assigning meaningless tasks or too complex and difficult tasks (for which the subordinate person lacks qualification, or which are impossible to complete);
• preventing access to information, e.g. from superiors, which results in the lack of information;
• disabling the employee to express his/her opinion or suggest his/her ideas;
• a superior takes credit for his/her subordinate’s work;
• sexual harassment;
• unjustified threats, e.g. termination of employment threat;
• various deliberate malicious actions, e.g. removal of office supplies;
• discussing small mistakes that tend to be overlooked in case of other employees, etc.

The term “mobbing” refers to bullying by colleagues, usually by a whole group of people, and is characterized by hiddenness, sophistication and maliciousness; the attacks are targeted and regular. The aim is to harm the other person in order to cause his/her dismissal from work. Mobbing is not an occasional conflict, but a repeated and deliberate process of destroying the intended victim. Mobbing may look like harmless jokes, pranks and tricks – however, the victim knows that the incident is not isolated or accidental, but on the contrary, happens on a regular basis during working hours.

The term “staffing” refers to bullying by subordinates. In many aspects, it has similar manifestations to bossing and mobbing, but staffing is targeted at chief executives. The effort may be to discredit the chief executive and cause his/her dismissal from work.

If you are not sure whether you are being bullied, try to fill out the Workplace Attack Checklist, which you can then use as a supporting material when dealing with your situation. A written inventory of attacks is an essential first step in identifying, investigating and elimination of bullying.

Bullying does not include:

• a one-time conflict;
• occasional misconduct of the superior, colleague, teacher;
• constructive feedback or criticism;
• monitoring, reviewing and evaluating of performance;
• requiring performance according to the job description and personal plans/fulfilment of academic requirements;
• requiring discipline resulting from managing an employee’s conduct or performance at work or actions that can be justified as requirements, e.g. occupational safety and health protection;
• a justified letter of reprimand for non-compliance with agreed matters or professional duties that the employee has repeatedly been reprehended for;
• withdrawal or reduction of the bonus (extra pay) for an employee in the event of a long-term decline in work performance.

Stalking

Since 1 January 2010, stalking has been classified as criminal offence and described in § 354 as persistent following of another person.  Stalking involves repetitive, systematic, long-term harassment by unsolicited text messages, e-mails, Skype, various types of chat, phone calls, unwanted attention, or repeated targeted surveillance of a person. The content of the messages can be pleasant or even funny, but also insulting or intimidating. The attacker makes his/her victim feel afraid.

Victim of stalking

• stalker = a person the victim knows personally and knows that he/she is being stalked by the person;
• stalker = a person the victim knows personally but is unaware that he/she is being stalked by the person;
• stalker = a person the victim does not know personally (e.g. cyberstalkers looking for their victims on the Internet).

Manifestations of stalking

• demonstration of authority and power (direct or indirect threats);
• physically stalking the victim on his/her way to work/shop, chasing the victim in a car, waiting for the victim in front of his/her house;
• the stalker may also threaten to physically attack the victim or attack the victim’s loved ones;
• carrying out threats in cases where the actual stalker’s attempts have failed;
• a stalker pretends to be a victim, refers to himself/herself as a victim and pretends that the victim is taking revenge on him/her; the stalker can even bring a charge against the victim;
• trying to damage the reputation of the victim, to defame him/her by spreading false information about the victim.

Impact of undesirable behaviour

• • Fear, anxiety, shame, anger.
  • Decreased productivity, poor academic/work performance.
  • Poor attendance and avoidance of teachers/colleagues.
  • Decreased self-esteem.
  • Premature termination of studies/employment.
  • An unpleasant experience affects personal life.