Her PhD thesis was titled: ‘Conflict Management Mechanism for Workplace Harassment: A Case Study of a Provincial Government Department in Johannesburg, South Africa.’
“Harassment is an expression of power and control, and it can involve different forms of harassment, including sexual, verbal, discriminatory personal, physical, power and psychological, as well as cyber bullying, - in other words, any behaviour that is unwanted and/or uninvited,” says Monakali.
To address this, she developed a conflict management framework which emphasises both prevention and intervention strategies to empower organisations to effectively manage workplace harassment.
Monakali has a BA degree in Social Sciences from Mandela University, a BA Honours in Political Sciences from UNISA and a Master’s degree in Conflict Management and Transformation from Mandela University. She is an accredited commercial mediator with five years working experience in the Dispute Resolution Industry.
Her research study was conducted at the head office of a provincial government department. “It was revealed that the most common types of harassment experienced within the department tend to be verbal harassment, physical harassment, power harassment and psychological harassment, with perpetrators predominantly being senior employees and the targets commonly being young females,” she explains.
“Power harassment was experienced most by females and psychological harassment by males.”
Verbal harassment consists of shouting, yelling, insulting, name-calling, intimidating, threatening, shaming, as well as demeaning or derogatory language levelled at a victim in public or private. Physical harassment involves physical attacks or threats such as the intent to inflict harm, physically or sexually.
Power harassment is where the harasser exercises their power by bullying a target who is junior to them in the office hierarchy. Psychological harassment is also known as emotional or mental bullying. Victims of psychological harassment often feel put down and belittled on a personal and/or professional level or both.
Monakali says, “One of the research participants mentioned that she had experienced verbal and physical harassment. But after she reported the case, she was subjected to victimisation, isolation, further humiliation and ridicule. She was labelled a troublemaker and her working environment became intolerable.”
The vast majority of both male and female participants who experienced or witnessed harassment kept quiet and did not report the incident because the harasser was in a powerful position: “People who are harassed prefer not to bring charges through a procedure that requires a formal hearing such as lodging a grievance or using disciplinary processes. Victims just want the harassment to stop, they want things to go back to normal,” she said.
When the harassment continues it has a deleterious effect on the well-being of the victim, resulting in feelings of shame, doubt, self-depreciation, insecurity, inadequacy and a lack of confidence, stemming from the victim’s beliefs that no one will believe their experience.
This creates a conflict between getting help and keeping the secret, which can lead to reduced job performance, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, frustration, anger, revenge, stress, feelings of powerlessness, loss of motivation and even a loss of their career.
“The only mechanism to deal with conflict within organisations is through grievance and disciplinary procedures. If these mechanisms do not exist or if they fail, the conflict escalates, is protracted and can become legal and costly,” says Monakali.
Her framework highlighted that conflict should be contained, managed and resolved in a manner that prevents it from escalating and requiring an outside agency for resolution.
This can be achieved by providing harassment management training for everyone in leadership positions, support structures that are visibly and tangibly championed by management, and through comprehensive education and awareness programmes for all staff members.
With her PhD in hand, Monakali will share her findings and recommendations with the department concerned as well as other provincial government departments, organisations and policy makers,” she says. “I am an advocate for change and this requires systems for addressing harassment that give people the confidence to come forward.”
In terms of her own growth, Monakali attributes her advocacy and achievements to her parents whom she says “have been a constant source of inspiration for all areas of my life, as is my greater ‘village’ - my grandparents, uncles and aunts.”
Her family lives in Johannesburg where her Mom, Hilda Monakali, is in the financial sector, and her Dad, Joe Monakali, is in the Information Technology space. “Their hard work, resilience and unwavering support have taught me the importance of dedication and perseverance. They instilled in me values such as integrity, empathy and the importance of education. They taught me to show up strong, and that if you start something, you must finish it.”
She chose to study at Mandela University as they have family in Gqeberha whom they would visit for holidays. “I loved the friendly city, the people, the coast and the ocean, and I knew this was where I wanted to study,” she says. Her supervisor was Professor David Bogopa.
During her Master’s degree at Mandela University, she attended a research workshop where she met her mentor, Dr Layla Cassim, the founder of Layla Cassim ERS Consultants CC who specialises in providing research support to postgraduate students and emerging researchers in South Africa, the SADC region and globally.
“Layla has played a significant role in my personal and professional development. Her guidance, knowledge and encouragement has helped shape my career path,” says Monakali who, in turn, volunteers as a mentor for a development programme called Releasing Eagles that provides mentorship for young boys and girls focusing on leadership development. “I am passionate about being impactful and being of service”, she explains.
In terms of her future, she has large ambitions to help change the approach to conflict management, as well as the broader conflict resolution arena for women. “Throughout history, women have been most vulnerable to conflict, and have been largely excluded from conflict prevention and resolution,” she explains.
“As a young, driven African woman who regards education as the ultimate driver of our country and economy, I would like to be included and involved in peace processes, to stand up for human rights and to advance the 2030 sustainable development agenda. My ideal for South Africa and Africa is to have more women in leadership, for women to be recognised and represented across all sectors.
“As a young professional, I am learning from women who have gone before me, and I am paving the way for those who come after me, as I believe in pouring back where you are planted. I am also proud to be part of the current generation taking forward the ethos of the 1956 Women’s March against oppression: you strike a woman, you strike a rock”.