A Psychoanalytic Dialectical Model for Sexual and other Forms of Workplace Harassment1

Beginning with a brief literature review, the present paper outlines a dialectical model for sexual and other forms of workplace harassment in which the role dependent models of bully, victim and bystander are seen to complexly interact and facilitate each other. An organization which has a bully always has the other two roles represented according to the model. It is suggested that for a workplace to function harmoniously all three roles must be addressed, and the power struggle resolved. The theory is illustrated with a series of case studies drawn from a forensic psychiatry practice. These include some more unusual forms of harassment such as the harassment of a Mexican American woman by an African American woman, the harassment of a middle-aged conservative man by two young women, the harassment of a man by several male employees together with traditional patterns of an older male employer harassing a younger female employee. Psychoanalytic processes which explain the pathological patterns are illustrated with material drawn from a psychoanalysis of a harassed woman. The paper concludes with some brief suggestions for a plan for workplace intervention.