Mobbing in Slovenia: Prevalence, mobbing victim characteristics, and the connection with post-traumatic stress disorder
Abstract
An increasing number of organizations face the problem of mobbing, which represents a serious, widespread problem with numerous consequences for victims, organizations, and society. We also recognize the connection this phenomenon has with the emergence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD poses one of the most critical consequences for victims of mobbing, who mostly consist of employees at lower organizational levels. Our research focuses on the prevalence of mobbing in Slovenia, its correlation to PTSD, and some differences in the subjective and objective assessments of being exposed to mobbing. We found that the prevalence of mobbing in Slovenia can be compared to some previous assessments as well as data from other countries. Among the study’s participants, 24% could be classified as regular victims of mobbing. For the first time, we link mobbing with PTSD using a Slovenian sample. We also recorded some interesting differences between subjective and objective assessments of mobbing, thereby indicating the importance of subjective conceptualizations of mobbing acts, which should be investigated in greater detail in future research.
Downloads
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
Arias, I., & Pape, K. T. (1999). Psychological abuse: Implications for adjustment and commitment to leave violent partners. Violence and Victims, 14(1), 55–67.
Bakovnik, R. (2006). Vloga sveta delavcev pri odkrivanju in preprečevanju mobbinga. Industrijska demokracija, 12(10), 3-5.
Bentley, T. A., Cately, B., Cooper-Thomas, H., Gardner, D., O’Driscoll, M. P., Dale, A., & Trenberth, L. (2012). Perceptions of workplace bullying in the New Zealand travel industry: Prevalence and management strategies. Tourism Management, 33(2), 351-360. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.04.004
Boer, K. R., Van Ruler, O., Van Emmerik, A. A. P., Sprangerrs, M. A., De Rooij, S. E., Vroom, M. B., . . ., The Dutch Peritonitis Study Group (2008). Factors associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms in a prospective cohort of patients after abdominal sepsis: A nomogram. Intensive Care Medicine, 34(4), 664-674. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00134-007-0941-3
Brečko, D. (2006). Mobbing—Psihoteror tekmovalne družbe. Industrijska demokracija, 12(10), 12–18.
Brečko, D. (2010). Recite mobbingu ne: Obvladovanje psihičnega in čustvenega nasilja. Ljubljana, Slovenia: Planet GV.
Breslau, N., Davis, G. C., Andreski, P., Paterson, E. L., & Schultz, L. R. (1997). Sex differences in posttraumatic stress disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54, 1044–1048. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1997.01830230082012
Brinkmann, R. (1995). Mobbing, bullying, bossing. Treibjagd am Arbeitsplatz. Heidelberg, Germany: Sauer Verlag.
Christiansen, D., & Elklit, A. (2012). Sex differences in PTSD. In Emilio Ovuga (Ed.), Post traumatic stress disorders in a global context (pp. 113–142). Rijeka, Croatia: InTech. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/28363
Civil Servants Act. (2012). Official Gazette RS, No. 40/2012. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://zakonodaja.gov.si/rpsi/r07/ predpis_ZAKO3177.html
Cowie, H., Jennifer, D., Neto, C., Angulo, J. C., Pereira, B., del Barrio, C., & Ananiadou, K. (2000). Comparing the nature of workplace bullying in two European countries: Portugal and the UK. In M. Sheehan, S. Ramsey, & J. Patricks (Eds.), Transcending the boundaries: Integrating people, processes and systems. Proceedings of the 2000 Conference (pp. 128–133). Brisbane, Australia: Griffith University.
Di Martino, V., Hoel, H., & Cooper, C. L. (2003). Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Duffy, M., & Sperry, L. (2012). Mobbing: Causes, consequences, and solutions. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380019.001.0001
Einarsen, S., Raknes, B. I., Matthiesen, S. B., & Hellesøy, O. H. (1994). Mobbing og harde personkonflikter. Helsafarlig samspill på arbeid- splassen (Bullying and severe interpersonal conflicts. Unhealthy interactions at work). Soreidgrend, Norway: Sigma Forlag.
Employment Relationship Act. (2009). Official Gazette RS, No. 83/2009. Retrieved November 28, 2012, from http://zakonodaja.gov. si/rpsi/r00/predpis_ZAKO1420.html
Escartín, J., Salin, D., & Rodríguez-Carballeira, Á. (2011). Conceptualizations of Workplace Bullying: Gendered Rather than Gender Neutral?. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 10(4), 157-165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1866-5888/a000048
Escartín, J., Zapf, D., Arrieta, C., & Rodríguez-Carballeira, Á. (2001). Workers’ perception of workplace bullying: A cross-cultural study. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 20(2), 178–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594320903395652
Ferris, P. A. (2009). The role of the consulting psychologist in the prevention, detection, and correction of bullying and mobbing in the workplace. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 61(3), 169–189. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0016783
Gold, S. D., Marx, B. P., Soler-Baillo, J. M., & Sloan, D. M. (2005). Is life stress more traumatic than traumatic stress? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 19(6), 687–698. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2004.06.002
Hoel, H., Cooper, C. L., & Faragher, B. (2001). The experience of bullying in Great Britain: The impact of organizational status. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 443–465. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594320143000780
Ireland, J. (2006). Bullying among mentally-ill patients detained in a high-secure hospital: An exploratory study of the perceptions of staff and patients into how bullying is defined. Aggressive Behavior, 32(5), 451–463. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.20145
Jan, S. (2011). Mobbing na delovnem mestu in njegova povezava s posttravmatsko stresno motnjo (Master’s thesis). Retrieved October 10, 2012, from http://www.epf.uni-mb.si/ediplome/pdfs/jan-sanja-mag.pdf
Kostelić-Martić, A. (2007). Psihično nasilje na delovnem mestu. HRM, 15, 26–32.Leymann, H. (1996). The content and development of mobbing at work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 165–184.
Leymann, H., & Gustafsson, A. (1996). Mobbing at work and the development of post-traumatic stress disorders. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 251–275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594329608414858
Lewis, D. (2001). Perceptions of bullying in organizations. International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2(1), 48–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJMDM.2001.001221
Long, M. E., Elhai, J. D., Schweinle, A., Gray, M. J., Grubaugh, A., & Frueh, B. (2008). Differences in posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic razes and symptom severity between criterion A1 and non-criterion A1 stressors. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 1255–1263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.01.006
Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Tracy, S. J., & Alberts, J. K. (2007). Burned by bullying in the American workplace: Prevalence, perception, degree, and impact. Journal of Management Studies, 44(6), 837–862. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2007.00715.x
Mikkelsen, G. E., & Einarsen, S. (2001). Bullying in Danish work-life: Prevalence and health correlates. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 10(4), 393–413. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594320143000816
Mikkelsen, G. E., & Einarsen, S. (2002). Basic assumptions and post-traumatic stress among victims of workplace bullying. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 11(1), 87–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594320143000861
Niedl, K. (1996). Mobbing and well-being: Economic and personnel development implications. European Journal of Work and Organ- izational Psychology, 5(2), 239–249. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594329608414857
Nielsen, M. B., Matthiesen, S. B., & Einarsen, S. (2005). Ledelse og personkonflikter: Symptomer på postraumatisk stress blant ofre for mobbing fra ledere (Leadership and bullying. Posttraumatic symptoms among victims after bullying by their leaders). Nordisk Psykologi, 57(4), 391–415. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00291463.2005.10637381
Notelaers, G., Einarsen, S., De Witte, H., & Vermunt, J. K. (2006). Measuring exposure to bullying at work: The validity and advantages of the latent class cluster approach. Work and Stress, 19(4), 289–302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02678370601071594
Occupational Health and Safety Act. (2011). OG, Republic Slovenia, No. 43/2011. Retreived November 28, 2012, from http://zakonodaja.gov.si/rpsi/r03/predpis_ZAKO1643.html
Parent-Thirion, A., Maciass, E. F., Hurley, J., & Vermeylen, G. (2007). Fourth European working conditions survey. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
Raphael, B., Lundin, T., & Weisæth, L. (1989). A research method for the study of psychological and psychiatric aspects of disaster. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 80 (Supp. 353), 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb03041.x
Ravin, J. M., & Boal, C. K. (1989). Post-traumatic stress disorder in the work setting: Psychic injury, medical diagnosis, treatment, and litigation. American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 10(2), 5–23.
Rayner, C., Hoel, H., & Cooper, C. L. (2002). Workplace bullying: What we know, who is to blame and what can we do? London: Taylor & Francis.
Robnik, S., & Milanovič, I. (2008). Trpinčenje na delovnem mestu: rezultati raziskave Sindikata bančništva Slovenije in priporočila za delodajalce. Ljubljana: Sindikat bančništva Slovenije.
Rodriguez-Muñoz, A., Moreno-Jiménez, B., Sanz Vergel, A., & Garrosa Hernández, E. (2010). Post-traumatic symptoms among victims of workplace bullying: exploring gender differences and shattered assumptions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 20(10), 2616–2635. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00673.x
Schüffel, W., Schade, B., & Schunk, T. (2004). A brief inventory to investigate stress reactions. Post-traumatic symptom scale, 10 items (PTSS-10). Marburg, Germany: Philipps University Clinic.
Tkalec, L. (2001). Šikaniranje. Teorija in praksa, 38(5), 908–926.
Tkalec, L. (2006). Mobbing—Psihoteror na delovnem mestu. Industrijska demokracija, 12(10), 6–12.
Vartia, M. (1996). The sources of bullying—Psychological work environment and organizational climate. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5(2), 203–214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594329608414855
Vartia, M. (2001). Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 27(1), 63–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.588
Vie, T. L., Glasø, L., & Einarsen, S. (2010). Does trait anger, trait anxiety, or organizational position moderate the relationship between exposure to negative acts and self-labeling as a victim of workplace bullying? Nordic Psychology, 62(3), 67–79. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1027/1901-2276/a000017
Weathers, W. F., Keane, T. M., & Foa, E. B. (2009). Assessment and Diagnosis of Adults. In E. B. Foa (Ed.), Effective treatments for PTSD: Practice guidelines from international society for traumatic stress studies (pp. 23–61). New York: The Guilford Press.
Zapf, D. (2000). Mobbing—Eine extreme Form sozialer Belastungen in Organisationen. In H. P. Mushal, & T. Einsenhauer (Eds.), Psychologie der Arbeits-sicherheit. Beiträge zur Föderung von Sicherheit und Gesundheit in Arbeitssystemen (pp. 142–149). Heidelberg, Germany: Asanger.
Zapf, D., Einarsen, S., Hoel, H., & Vartia, M. (2003). Empirical findings on bullying in the workplace. In S. Einarsen, H. Hoel, D. Zapf, & Cooper, C. L. (Eds.), Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace. International perspectives in research and practice (pp. 103–126). London: Taylor & Francis.
