Mobbing is more prevalent than we first imagined.
Harassment by a group of an individual is a phenomenon well known to all.
It is usual that during the schooling stage some of the students suffer from different types of harassment, a process that is commonly known today as “bullying”. It is now recognized that bullying is a serious problem that affects the mental, physical and emotional health of those who receive it.
Although we think that when people reach adulthood, having matured, they should leave this type of unpleasant behavior aside, the reality is that harassment in the work environment also exists . It is known as “mobbing” and is believed to affect at least one in ten working people.
Mobbing has different forms and causes that we will review in this article so that we are clear about the situations of workplace harassment that can occur during our day to day.
Definition of bullying
Workplace bullying is a practice that is carried out in a more subtle way than school bullying, whose dynamics vary from case to case depending on a large number of factors that make it difficult to study. Luckily , mobbing is currently considered by law to be a problem in the workplace , so bosses must offer solutions to this problem in an obligatory way.
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In general, we can define mobbing events as acts of emotional and/or psychological violence directed at a specific person within the work environment , which end up affecting their physical, mental and emotional health as well as their work performance. These practices take many different forms depending on the perpetrator, the victim, and the working relationship they have with each other.
The end result of mobbing practices is a very hostile work environment towards a specific worker , in which several members of the work team usually participate directly or indirectly, usually led by a main harasser. This ends up causing, in most cases, the harassed person to leave their job.
Signs of workplace bullying
The practices carried out to produce this environment include, among others:
- provocations
- offenses
- threats
- Discrimination
- false rumors
- impossible tasks
- lack of recognition
Mobbing mainly affects women (approximately 70% of victims), especially those in workplaces with low levels of organization and whose supervisory staff tend to be ineffective and inattentive.
If the harassment is suffered over a long period of time (more than 6 months), repeatedly and systematically by one or several individuals, causing the isolation and silence of their victims, we would find ourselves before a clear case of mobbing.
Although it is not usual for workplace harassment to escalate to physical violence, there are also cases in which it occurs .
Types of workplace harassment
Although the methods of harassment and their dynamics vary enormously from case to case, certain parameters can be established that help distinguish between different types of mobbing that usually occur.
If we look at the hierarchical dynamics that exist between the victim and their aggressor(s), we can separate mobbing into:
1. Upward vertical mobbing
This type of harassment comes from a person or group of people who are in a lower hierarchical position than the victim, that is, subordinates harassing their superior.
2. Downward vertical mobbing
This type of mobbing is more frequent, and occurs when a superior initiates mobbing actions against a subordinate. The asymmetric power relationship between victim and aggressor makes it difficult to defend against harassment, either by communicating with other colleagues or superiors, or by filing a complaint, since this will most likely mean the dismissal of the harassed person.
3.Horizontal Mobbing
Another very common type of mobbing is that which occurs between employees of the same level. The reasons may be several, but it usually occurs when the aggressor detects an asymmetry between the hierarchical position between him/her and her victim, not because of rank but simply because of other factors such as personality, studies or job performance.
We can also separate the different types of mobbing according to the motivation behind the harassment of the victim by the aggressor. We would observe, for example:
4. Strategic bullying
Strategic mobbing is one that occurs for the benefit of the aggressor. Whether it is to eliminate a competitor for a promotion or eliminate a subordinate so that they are not replaced by him, this type of mobbing stands out as a calculated strategy to eliminate someone from the work environment or wear him down enough to stop be an inconvenience.
5. Wicked Mobbing
Perverse mobbing occurs when the instigators have no special reason to start their harassment against the victim. It is characteristic of certain pathological personalities , who enter into this type of psychological abuse practices with the sole purpose of obtaining satisfaction from the torture exerted and the effect they cause on their victims.
6. Address Mobbing
When supervisors agree to harass a worker. It is usually an extremely unpleasant experience, due to the strong asymmetry between powers within the work environment that exists between the victim and her aggressors.
Degrading practices will be used, such as the disqualification of the victim’s work or the assignment of tasks that are firsthand known to be impossible to complete. In some cases, employees are assigned mundane and tedious tasks so that it is they who decide to leave the company .
In general, this type of mobbing occurs to prevent the subordinate from receiving any type of compensation at the time of his dismissal, since it will be the victim who decides to renounce the benefits of the dismissal by leaving the job on his own.
7. Disciplinary bullying
Disciplinary bullying occurs when the victim’s personality or actions do not fit with the work environment. It can be vertical or horizontal, but it occurs because of a difference of opinion and way of doing things between the victim and her aggressors.
It occurs, for example, in jobs where practices of dubious legality are carried out , so that those who have doubts about the legitimacy of certain behaviors have an example victim about what can happen in the event of rebelling.
Bibliographic references
- Acquadro Maran, D., Bernardelli, S., & Varetto, A. (2018). Mobbing (bullying at work) in Italy: characteristics of successful court cases. Journal of injury & violence research, 10(1), 17–24. doi:10.5249/jivr.v10i1.945.
- Tatar, ZB, & Yüksel, Ş. (2019). Mobbing at Workplace-Psychological Trauma and Documentation of Psychiatric Symptoms. Noro psikiyatri arsivi, 56(1), 57–62. doi:10.29399/npa.22924.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
