MORAL HARASSMENT IN THE BRAZILIAN BANKING SECTOR AS AN AGGRAVATION OF INTERPERSONAL CONFLICT

Abstract

Currently, the management of retail banking organizations and the praxis of the banking sector as a whole favor the occurrence of interpersonal conflicts and their evolution into moral harassment. This research aimed to show that moral harassment can arise from interpersonal conflicts that are poorly managed by banking organizations. To this end, we conducted a multicase study using completed court cases that proved the occurrence of moral harassment and organizational moral harassment. We grounded our research in the concepts of interpersonal conflict, moral harassment, and organizational moral harassment. Through the analysis of pre-established assumptions, the results of the research pointed out the following: interpersonal conflict is a phenomenon inherent to human nature; the organizational environment facilitates the occurrence of disagreements between individuals or groups; interpersonal conflict is a possibility of social interaction, whose effects can impact people and organizations; organizations must identify the occurrences of interpersonal conflicts and evaluate the relevance or not of acting on them; the way organizations act on interpersonal conflicts determines the effects resulting from these situations on the organization itself and on the individuals and/or groups involved; and that moral harassment is a specific type of interpersonal conflict, which arises from the worsening of divergence situations among individuals or groups, causing negative effects both for those involved in these situations and for the organization in which they operate.