What is Straining?
In modern organizational dynamics, we often hear about stress, burnout, and mobbing. However, there is a form of workplace discomfort that is equally harmful but decidedly less well-known and more difficult to identify: straining.
Written by Dr. Renato Votta, this in-depth study explores a real "grey area" of psychosocial health in professional contexts, analyzing how it differs from other syndromes and why HR managers and executives can no longer afford to ignore it.
What is Straining?
The term derives from the English "to strain" (to tighten, twist, put under pressure). In the workplace, straining is defined as a situation of forced stress, in which the victim experiences at least one hostile action with long-lasting negative effects.
Unlike mobbing, which requires a continuous pattern of harassing actions repeated over time (at least six months), straining can also arise from a single episode —such as a demotion, an unjustified transfer, or sudden exclusion from company information flows—the marginalizing effects of which remain constant and detrimental for the worker.
The distinctive features: Straining vs Mobbing
For Decision Makers and HR it is essential to be able to distinguish between these two realities:
- Mobbing: It is a continuous attack, a persecutory strategy aimed at isolating or expelling the employee through a variety of hostile behaviors.
- Straining: It lacks the frequency and repetitiveness of mobbing. It involves a single or limited action that permanently and negatively affects the person's working conditions, placing them in a state of submission and chronic psychological stress.
The consequences on the corporate climate and on the public administration
Straining not only damages the individual resource, but has a devastating impact on the entire organizational ecosystem:
- Decreased productivity: Marginalization generates demotivation and disengagement.
- Indirect costs: Increased absenteeism, turnover, and transfer requests.
- Reputational damage: An environment perceived as toxic struggles to attract and retain top talent.
Straining not only damages the individual resource, but has a devastating impact on the entire organizational ecosystem:
- Decreased productivity: Marginalization generates demotivation and disengagement.
- Indirect costs: Increased absenteeism, turnover, and transfer requests.
- Reputational damage: An environment perceived as toxic struggles to attract and retain top talent.
How to intervene: the role of leadership and training
Preventing strain requires empathetic, transparent leadership with high levels of cross-functional skills.
Managers must be able to manage conflicts before they escalate and structure corporate reorganization processes that respect the professional dignity of each individual.
In this scenario, HR departments' main ally is continuous training and development of soft skills related to emotional intelligence and organizational well-being.
With our Soft Skill Game 3D e-library, we offer immersive Serious Games specifically designed for management and coordination roles. Through advanced simulations, leaders can practice listening skills, inclusive team management, and psychosocial risk prevention.
Each training course is also tracked and validated using Open Badge 3.0 in Blockchain technology, ensuring the organization can measure the development of internal skills and fully comply with workplace health and safety guidelines.