Labor Law: Conflicts in the Workplace Are Not Always Bullying

When people work together, conflicts are inevitable to a certain extent. However, not every conflict in the workplace constitutes workplace bullying. Especially for people who find it difficult to deal with criticism and conflicts, emotionally stressful situations can sometimes arise at work. According to the Mannheim Labor Court, the line between ordinary workplace conflict and legally relevant workplace bullying is drawn much later—specifically when colleagues engage in behavior that violates a person’s dignity—or is crossed in cases of intimidation, hostility, and humiliation. For this reason, the lawsuit filed by an employee who felt she was a victim of workplace bullying was dismissed in this case (decision of June 11, 2026, case number 5 Ca 139/25)…