What Is Mobbing (Psychological Harassment)?
Mobbing has the meanings of psychological violence, pressure, intimidation, disturbance and harassment in the literature. Mobbing (psychological harassment) can be defined as the long-term and systematic psychological pressure of the person or group who holds the power in the workplace, especially in hierarchical structures where control is weak. The main purpose of mobbing is to intimidate the person to quit the job as a result of the pressure.
In order for a behaviour to be considered as mobbing (psychological harassment), it must have some characteristics. First of all, the behaviour must serve the purpose of removing the victim from work and passivising him/her. The behaviours must be systematically carried out in order to remove the victim from work. In addition, it must manifest itself in the form of malicious and hostile attitudes, power inequality and repetitive continuous pressure. Mobbing can be directed from superior to subordinate as well as from subordinate to superior, that is, from employee to employer.
The following behaviours can be given as examples of behaviours that will be considered as mobbing, i.e. psychological violence in the workplace:
-Overburdening the person with more workload than his/her job requires, and putting the work that he/she cannot handle on him/her,
-Gossiping about a person,
-Mocking a person’s disability, appearance, religious beliefs or private life,
-Exclusion of a person because of his/her political opinion,
-Threats of violence against a person,
-Reprimanding the person loudly in public and preventing other people from communicating with the person,
-Constant monitoring of the person’s commute to and from work and constant emphasis on this at the slightest inconvenience,
-Exclusion from meals, being forced to work in a room separated from others,
-Calling a person a nickname,
-Trying to demotivate the person,
-Sexual harassment of a person,
-Permanent change of job, damage to home or workplace.
The above-mentioned are only examples and it is possible to increase them. Mobbing, i.e. psychological harassment, should be evaluated according to each concrete case and the conditions of the workplace. However, the most important point to be considered about mobbing is that experiencing the above-mentioned or similar behaviours once will not be sufficient for mobbing. The behaviour that may constitute mobbing must be done systematically in order to make the person quit the job.
The effects of mobbing on the person are quite high and corrosive. Damaging the person’s professional sense of self, loss of self-confidence, experiencing emotions such as fear, anger, restlessness, depression, panic attacks, even leading to health problems up to heart attack can be shown as examples of the effects of mobbing.
In order to prevent mobbing (psychological harassment), it is possible to carry out some studies at workplaces. Some of these studies include identifying the problems in the workplace in a timely manner, appreciating the success of the employees, investigating and deciding the complaint in a fair and impartial manner and organising the work environment in accordance with the needs of the people.
In cases where mobbing, i.e. psychological abuse is encountered, first of all, the problem should be tried to be solved by communicating. The person who applies mobbing should be told that he/she should end this situation, that this is a kind of harassment, and even if possible, he/she should be told to stop such behaviour in the presence of a witness. This situation is also very important in terms of proving mobbing, that is, psychological violence.
The situation should be reported to the authorities of the organisation.
In addition, psychological help can be obtained to help the person in the situation experienced. This can also serve as evidence to the managers in the workplace.
The application of mobbing, i.e. psychological violence in a workplace, gives both the employer and the employee the right to terminate the employment contract immediately for just cause. If the employee is subjected to psychological violence at the workplace, a notice stating that the employee has been subjected to mobbing and that the employment contract has been terminated immediately for just cause must be sent to the employer. If mobbing is proven, there is also the right to compensation against the workers and the employer. In addition, individuals have the right to claim discrimination compensation under certain conditions.
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