WHEN SUFFERING BECOMES A METHOD: WORKPLACE HARASSMENT AND THE NORMALIZATION OF VIOLENCE IN HIERARCHICAL ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

This study examines the mechanisms through which hierarchical institutions transform practices of suffering, humiliation, and symbolic violence into legitimate instruments of management, professional formation, and organizational order maintenance. The research adopts a qualitative and theoretical-analytical approach, employing a critical and interdisciplinary qualitative meta-synthesis. The analytical corpus consists of three previous studies addressing institutional silencing of psychological suffering, workplace harassment as a violation of human dignity and neurorights, and processes of virilization and normalization of violence in militarized organizations. The analysis is grounded in the dialogue between Psychodynamics of Work, Critical Social Psychology, Organizational Sociology, Public Health, and the Theory of Fundamental Rights. Findings indicate that the reproduction of suffering in hierarchical organizations operates through four interconnected mechanisms: normalization of violence, virilization of suffering, institutional silencing, and organizational legitimization of potentially abusive practices. Based on the integration of these elements, the study proposes the analytical category Institutionalization of Suffering as an Organizational Method, defined as the process through which experiences of suffering, psychological pressure, humiliation, and symbolic violence become embedded in organizational dynamics as instruments of discipline, socialization, belonging, and authority maintenance. The findings suggest that, in certain institutional contexts, suffering ceases to be merely a consequence of organizational relations and assumes a strategic function in the reproduction of power structures. The proposed category contributes to advancing debates on mental health, institutional violence, fundamental rights, and organizational management, offering interdisciplinary insights for the fields of Law, Psychology, Public Security, and Public Health.