Four out of 10 engineers have suffered from harassment, according to study
Four out of 10 engineers at Hydro-Quebec have suffered from psychological harassment, according to a union-sponsored study.
The study was conducted by Angelo Soares, a workplace sociologist who teaches at the School of Management at the University of Quebec at Montreal.
Using the same mental health measurement tool adopted by the province’s health department, Soares found 59 per cent of the harassed engineers were targeted by their superiors. Seven out of ten 10 endured the harassment for more than a year.
“The situation is catastrophic and above all intolerable,” said Ramzi Chahine, president of the professional engineers union of Hydro-Quebec.
He called on the utility to spell out its preventive programs as well as measures to fix the damage of psychological harassment in the workplace. Any measures can only be effective if programs and policies are supported by the highest levels, added Chahine in a statement. What’s more, real money investment has to be made
In the past, Hydro-Quebec put in place certain measures addressing harassment, including zero tolerance.
“It’s obvious that such programs aren’t working,” said Chahine.
