A person spends a lot of time in a work team, and conflicts can arise for various reasons. However, in addition to interpersonal conflicts, due to the difference in the domestic interests of employees, another type of conflict may occur in the organization.
Attacks and harassment by work colleagues have been known as a phenomenon for a long time, but they were identified as a separate psychological problem only in the late 1970s and early 80s. The phenomenon itself is called mobbing (from English mobbing — to harass and persecute someone, to be rude to someone, to attack or nitpick). This is a situation in which a company's employees find themselves at their workplace, exposed to confrontation from colleagues and sometimes even superiors. [4]
As a rule, mobbing is typical for employees at the same level, but it is also present in management relations with subordinates. It is not uncommon for subordinates and management to jointly undergo or participate in mobbing themselves.
The social phenomenon under consideration does not fall into the category of separate, random actions directed against one employee or group of employees. Mobbing is a long-term, controlled and targeted process. An employee or group of employees experience harassment on a daily basis or intermittently.
According to research conducted by experts, the following tactics are used in relation to victims of mobbing:
Table 1 — Mobbing tactics [3]
Mobbing tacticsFrequency of use,% The practice of double standards in relation to an employee 57 Spreading rumors and gossip about an employee 56 Directed, negative attitude towards an employee's colleagues 55 Physical isolation of an employee or his workplace from the team 54 Public insults and humiliation of the employee 53 Accusation of mistakes made by others 47 Subjectivism during the evaluation process in relation to an employee 46 Issuing orders that deliberately provoke the employee's “rebelliousness” 45 Disclosure of confidential information about an employee 45 Focusing on gender, nationality, pronunciation, physical disabilities or other characteristics of the employee 44 Recruitment to perform an unpopular, unattractive job as punishment 44 Unrealistic manager requests (deadlines, workload, tasks) 44 Groundless harassment of an employee without being stopped in time by the manager 43 Hints that it is better for an employee to transfer or resign 43 Knowingly rejecting the employee's offers 40
Newcomers to the team or novice specialists are especially susceptible to the mobbing process. To determine how common this phenomenon is among aspiring professionals, I conducted a survey among 200 graduates of Tomsk universities who have started their careers. It was found that respondents encountered the following manifestations of mobbing:
Table 2 — Forms of mobbing that respondents have encountered in their professional activities.
Forms of mobbing that respondents have encountered in their professional activitiesFrequency of use,% My colleagues discuss me behind my back, spread rumors, gossip 51 The manager makes unrealistic requests (deadlines, tasks, workload) 46 I am accused of mistakes made by others 40 I am unreasonably criticized 28 My opinion is ignored 20 I am not invited to the general meeting 17 They hide the information necessary for my work 15 They laugh at me 15 The leader practices double standards with me 15 Who One of the employees focuses on my gender, nationality, pronunciation, and physical shortcomings or other peculiarities 12 Colleagues show a negative attitude towards me 8 I was publicly insulted and humiliated at work 8 Colleagues do not notice my presence 7 Colleagues deliberately do not accept my offers 6 I am recruited to do unpopular, unattractive work as punishment 6
Thus, it can be seen from the tables obtained that the research results are approximately the same as the percentage points: Spreading rumors and gossip about an employee; Making unrealistic requests (deadlines, tasks, workload); Blaming mistakes made by others; Thus, it can be seen which forms of mobbing are most common.
Staff mobbing can be either horizontal, when objectionable people are subjected to pressure from colleagues, or vertical, when management is directly involved in pressure on one of the team members. One way or another, the manager becomes involved in the process of bullying the mobbing object openly or indirectly. If such relationships do exist in the team, then the boss is at least aware of them. Being passive when mobbing at work, some use it for their own benefit and act on the principle of “divide and conquer”.
There are many reasons why some colleagues suddenly change their attitude towards others, and they become the target of scandals and intrigues, nitpicking and accusations. There are the following reasons:
Figure 1. Classification of mobbing causes [2]
Typical phases in the development of mobbing in the workforce are as follows:
Creating prerequisites. The prerequisites for mobbing may be an unresolved conflict in the workplace or high emotional tension due to an unfavorable psychological climate.
The initial phase of mobbing. As a means of relaxing and relieving emotional stress, the “culprit” is sued, and this employee is attacked aggressively by colleagues or management in the form of discontent or ridicule. As a result, at this phase, the victim begins to have emotional breakdowns, which only increases the psycho-terror towards him.
The active phase of mobbing. In this phase, aggressive attacks and ridicule become systematic, tied to the mobbing object and no longer depend on his real actions and performance results.
Social isolation of a mobbing victim. In this phase, the employee is completely or partially isolated from participation in collective and joint corporate events, as well as in the joint work process. He is not invited to corporate events, colleagues' birthdays, joint tea parties, etc. Once in social isolation, an employee does not receive positive assessments of his actions, loses his bearings and becomes more and more helpless and insecure in his professional career. In addition, he is beginning to develop serious physical and mental illnesses, which leads to a large number of sick leave.
Job loss. More often, to maintain mental and physical health, an employee who has been mobbed finds another job himself, or is urged to leave at will.
The consequences of mobbing have a negative impact not only on its facility, but also on the activities of the organization itself. Thus, mobbing leads to the alienation of employees, absenteeism, increases staff turnover, and poisons the psychological climate in the work team, which has a negative impact on the performance of structural units and the organization as a whole. [2]
Currently, most developed Western countries are either hastily drafting or have already adopted special laws aimed at countering mobbing. They provide for the punishment of those responsible for organizing, carrying out or instigating it. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation and other federal laws that regulate social and labor relations to one degree or another do not contain the term “mobbing” and do not provide for measures to prevent it. The European Social Charter (revised) paid attention to this social phenomenon. This document was signed by Order No. 151 of the President of the Russian Federation dated May 12, 00 “On the Signing of the European Social Charter (Revised)”. Currently, work is underway to ratify this legal act in the field of social and labor relations. [1]
Solving this problem requires a well-developed mechanism for the prevention of mobbing processes among the organization's employees. In general, preventing mobbing means taking measures long before a conflict occurs to prevent or direct it into a constructive direction. The main focus of preventive measures is on organizing general conditions in such a way that the factors that stimulate mobbing are minimized.
Figure 2. A mechanism for the prevention of mobbing processes in an organization [2]
Individual prevention of mobbing processes in the system of interpersonal conflicts among employees of the organization's departments should be carried out both directly by the heads of departments and by the employees themselves. As organizational prevention, we can recommend creating favorable working conditions by ensuring the transparency of work in the organization and eliminating excessive and insufficient requirements for employees. Productive social and labor relations in the team can be supported by introducing coaching practices. This is a process that contributes to the development of an employee and increases the competence and improvement of the student's professional skills. Coaching allows you to unleash an individual's potential to maximize their own productivity and work efficiency. It is also necessary to conduct trainings for managers on the prevention of mobbing processes. It is necessary to combat mobbing, as well as other phenomena that lead to serious negative consequences. It is impossible to underestimate, let alone neglect, the negative impact of mobbing, both on individual employees of the organization and on the activities of the organization as a whole. This means that personnel management services should include the management of interpersonal and intergroup social conflicts in their functions, and pay close attention to the problem of mobbing.
1. Legal source Consultant Plus [Electronic resource] .- Access mode: http://www.consultant.ru, free
2. Polikanova O. Y. The study of mobbing processes in the system of interpersonal conflicts among employees of the organization/O. Y. Polikanova, M. N. Vrazhnova//Young Scientist. — 2011. — No. 4. 3. Mobbing: what to do if you are humiliated at work? [Electronic resource] .- Access mode: http://www.e-xecutive.ru/career/adviser/1742085/, free
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