Workplaces should build, not break employees

AS WE recently commemorated Mental Health Awareness Month in October, I want to speak not only as a lawyer, but as a South African, who has sat across from too many broken souls, who once walked into workplaces with hope and left with humiliation.

They do not arrive in my office talking about depression or anxiety. They come talking about their boss. About “the treatment.” About how every morning feels heavier than the last.

Workplace stress is not just about tight deadlines or long hours. It is about the slow corrosion of dignity. It is about being shouted at in front of others, about your work being undervalued, your potential being dismissed, your humanity being reduced to a number on a spreadsheet. It is about power and what happens when power forgets that it too is accountable.

Across the world, workplace stress has become one of the leading causes of poor mental health. The World Health Organization reports that over 12 billion working days are lost annually to depression and anxiety — a loss worth US$1 trillion globally in productivity.

In South Africa, the numbers are less precisely measured, but the pain is not. Our offices, construction sites, call centres, and municipal corridors are filled with people who have learned to cry in silence. People who are too afraid to speak because the next paycheck depends on their silence.

Bullying in the workplace is not just a personality issue, it is a legal one. It violates the Constitution’s promise of dignity, the Employment Equity Act’s protection against harassment, and the Labour Relations Act’s (LRA) guarantee of fair treatment. Yet for many, these rights remain distant, abstract words printed in the back of an HR file.

It is time to bring them to life.

The Constitution of South Africa is clear, every person has the right to dignity, equality and security of the person. These are not poetic ideals, they are enforceable rights.

The Labour Relations Act (LRA) and the Employment Equity Act (EEA) take these rights into the realm of work:

• Section 6(3) of the Employment Equity Act explicitly recognises harassment, including psychological harassment, as a form of unfair discrimination.
• The Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace (2022) defines bullying as unwelcome conduct that impairs dignity, causes harm, or creates a hostile environment.
• The LRA provides that an employee may approach the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) or a Bargaining Council if they experience such unfair conduct.

This means that no one needs to suffer silently. If you are being screamed at, excluded, humiliated or constantly threatened with dismissal, you have the right to act.

If your health is deteriorating because of work-related stress or intimidation, you have the right to be heard.

If you are punished for speaking up, the law is on your side.

The CCMA exists for exactly these struggles. It is a free, accessible platform where an employee can lodge a complaint for unfair labour practice, unfair discrimination, or constructive dismissal.

The process is simple:

1. File a referral (Form 7.11) within 90 days of the incident.
2. A conciliation meeting is scheduled, where both parties discuss the matter informally.
3. If unresolved, the matter can proceed to arbitration, where evidence is heard and a binding award can be made.

For more complex matters, such as those involving constitutional rights or systemic discrimination, the Labour Court or Labour Appeal Court can intervene.

These institutions are not just courts of law, they are courts of justice. They remind employers that the workplace is not their kingdom, it is a shared social space governed by law, fairness and humanity.

But let us talk honestly about the emotional side.

Workplace bullying and stress do not only end careers, they end confidence, sleep and sometimes even marriages. Too often, those affected begin to doubt themselves. They think, “Maybe I am too sensitive,” or, “I just need to toughen up.”

But resilience does not mean allowing abuse. As one worker told me recently, “I kept showing up until I didn’t recognise myself anymore.”

That is not resilience, that is survival. And no one should have to live in survival mode for eight hours a day.

In a world obsessed with productivity, the greatest act of defiance is to protect your peace. And that peace; your mental health, your dignity, your right to fair treatment; is not something you must beg for. It is guaranteed by law.

This article is not an attack on employers. It is an invitation to leadership. Research by Harvard Business Review and Forbes has shown that psychologically safe workplaces outperform toxic ones by up to 50% in productivity and innovation.

When people feel respected, they create more. When they feel safe, they stay longer. When they are treated with dignity, they give their best, not because they must, but because they want to.

A well-known quote reads: “A great leader is not measured by how many people they command, but by how many people they lift”.

I have represented municipal workers, factory hands, teachers, and clerks who have endured months, even years, of hostility, exclusion and fear. And yet, when they speak, they still say “I just want to be treated like a human being.”

That is the revolution unfolding in our workplaces today, not of strikes or slogans, but of dignity reclaiming its space.

Every South African worker, no matter their job title, has the right to dignity, equality and rest. Workplaces are not supposed to break us. They are supposed to build us.

If you are reading this and something in your chest tightens, it may be because you have felt unseen for too long. Let this be your reminder, you are not the problem. The problem is a system that forgets that behind every uniform and job title is a beating heart.

Speak up.

Document everything.

Seek help - from a union, a lawyer, or directly from the CCMA.

You are not alone.

The law is not a weapon only for the powerful, it is a shield for the vulnerable.

And to those in positions of power; managers, HR officers, supervisors — remember; you hold more than authority. You hold people’s peace of mind in your hands. Use that power with care.

The Mental Health Awareness Month is behind, let us not leave the conversation behind.

Let this be the month where South African workplaces began to heal, where leaders began to listen and workers began to speak.

The future of work is not just about technology or profit. It is about humanity. It is about the daily choice between fear and fairness. And every time you choose fairness — you are rebuilding this country, one workplace at a time.

Vedan is a lawyer and human rights advocate.