The 6 types of mobbing or workplace harassment

Harassment in the workplace can take different forms and expressions.

Mobbing is a reality that is increasingly studied and recognized. However, it can still be difficult to identify mobbing, it can still be difficult to identify mobbing where it occurs, especially since this form of harassment can take many forms.It can, however, still be difficult to identify mobbing where it occurs, especially since this form of harassment does not always have the same characteristics.

The different types of mobbing sometimes camouflage this phenomenon or even interpret it as something that is normal. After all, wherever this form of harassment occurs, there is an interest in ensuring that what happens cannot be used before a judge, and this means that in each type of work environment these attacks are adapted to the circumstances.

However, distinguishing the different types of mobbing is not impossible.. In this article we will review them, but first we will look at an example that will serve to recognize the characteristics of this kind of harassment.

A story of workplace harassment

Cristobal was a highly valued worker in his company dedicated to tourism, because he responded effectively to any problem that might arise in dealing with customers. He was disciplined, responsible and even worked overtime; simply because he enjoyed his work. He was an employee that any businessman would want to have in his team, so he was quickly promoted within his organization until he was placed as area manager of the airport.

He had been with the company for three years and there were no complaints about him for his good professional work, but everything changed for him after the fourth year due to the restructuring that his company had undergone, in which the director had changed. Apparently, Cristóbal did not like him, probably because he hardly knew him and he had not hired him..

Changes in the company

After his arrival, the new manager accused him of working too little, of being sexist without any basis (due to a conflict with a female employee who was trusted by the manager and in which Cristobal was right) and decided that he should carry out tasks that were not productive at all. In addition, the fifth year he decided to place a supervisor who was hierarchically above him. It must be said that the supervisor was not competent enough, as he did not know how to work in such a company.

It was Cristobal himself who had to teach him how to do the work effectively.. The manager's strategy was to keep Cristobal under control, something that was unnecessary since the levels of customer satisfaction in his area of work were the best in the company in the whole of Spain. The mission was clear: to demotivate Cristobal so that he would voluntarily resign and leave the company.

At different points in time, the manager accused Cristóbal of creating a bad atmosphere at work without having any proof of it.. This was simply to prove his trusted men right. He also invented lies to discredit his good professional work.

As a result, Cristóbal decided to leave the job because of the psychological damage he had been subjected to.. As a victim of mobbing, he tried to defend himself on several occasions until, as a result of the emotional exhaustion he had reached with this situation, he resigned from the company.

Mobbing: a reality present in the work environment

The above example is a case of mobbing, also known as workplace harassment. A phenomenon that occurs in the workplace, in which an individual or several in which one or more individuals systematically and repeatedly inflict psychological violence on another individual or individuals over a period of time. on another individual or individuals, over a prolonged period of time.

The harassers may be co-workers, superiors or subordinates, and this behavior can affect workers in the workplace.This behavior can affect workers in any type of company.

In addition, the victim is often misled into believing that he or she is to blame for everything that happens, sometimes even questioning the sanity of the victim. the sanity of the person who suffers the whole thing.. This phenomenon, known as Gaslighting, is very common in cases of partner abuse, but also occurs in workplace harassment. One of its effects is that the victim is paralyzed and anchored in doubt, which allows blatant injustices to continue.

The effects of harassment

Attacks in the workplace can cause serious psychological problems for the victim(s) (e.g. anxiety, depression, stress), demotivation at work, disruption of work performance and, in most cases, damage to the victim's reputation. The longer this situation persists, the worse the discomfort that is generated..

Types of mobbing

Mobbing can be classified in two ways: according to the hierarchical position or according to the target.What are these types of mobbing? They are summarized below:

1. Workplace mobbing according to hierarchical position.

Depending on the hierarchical position, mobbing can be:

1.1. Horizontal mobbing

This type of mobbing is characterized by the fact that the harasser and the victim are in the same hierarchical rank.. That is, it usually occurs between coworkers, and the psychological repercussions for the victim can be devastating.

The causes of this type of mobbing can be many and varied, although the most common are: to force a worker to conform to certain rules, out of enmity, to attack the weakest, because of differences with the victim, or because of lack of work and boredom.

1.2. Vertical Mobbing

Vertical mobbing is called vertical mobbing because either the harasser is at a higher hierarchical level than the victim or is at a lower level than the victim.. There are therefore two types of vertical mobbing: upward and downward.

• Upward mobbingOccurs when an employee at a higher hierarchical level is attacked by one or more of his subordinates.
• Downward mobbing or bossingIt occurs when a lower-level employee receives psychological harassment from one or more employees who occupy higher positions in the company's hierarchy. As we have seen in Cristobal's case, it can be carried out as a business strategy to get the harassed employee to leave the company.

2. Harassment at work according to the objective

Depending on the objectives that the harasser intends to achieve with mobbing, it can be classified as follows:

2.1. Strategic mobbing

This is a type of top-down or "institutional" harassment.. It is characterized by the fact that the mobbing is part of the company's strategy, and the objective is usually that the harassed person voluntarily terminates his or her contract. In this way, the company does not have to pay the compensation that would be due for unfair dismissal.

2.2. Management mobbing

This type of mobbing is carried out by the organization's management, generally for several reasonsIt is generally carried out for several reasons: to get rid of a worker who is not very submissive, to reach situations of labor slavery or to get rid of a worker who does not meet the boss's expectations (for example, for being too qualified or to embarrass him/her).

In addition, this type of workplace harassment can be carried out to maximize the company's productivity through fear, using repeated threats of dismissal in the event of failure to meet work objectives.

2.3. Perverse mobbing

Perverse mobbing at work refers to a type of mobbing that does not have a labor objective, but the causes are to be found in the manipulative and harassing personality of the harasser. and harassing personality of the harasser. It is a very damaging type of mobbing because the causes that produce the harassment cannot be solved by implementing other work dynamics as long as the person who harasses remains in the organization or is not reeducated.

This type of harasser usually carries out the mobbing in front of the victim, without witnesses. They are very seductive and quickly gain the trust of others. Perverse mobbing is usually horizontal or upward mobbing.

2.4. Disciplinary mobbing

This type of mobbing is used to make the harassed person understand that he/she must "fit into the mold", because if he/she does not, he/she will be punished.because if he/she does not, he/she will be punished. But this type of harassment not only instills fear in the victims, but also warns other colleagues of what could happen to them if they act in this way, creating a working environment in which no one dares to go against the superior.

It is also used against those people who have a lot of sick leave, pregnant women, and all those who denounce the fraud of the institution (for example, the accountant who witnesses bribes by the company).

Bibliographical references:

• Piñuel, I. (2003). Mobbing: cómo sobrevivir al acoso psicológico en el trabajo (Mobbing: how to survive psychological harassment at work). Punto de Lectura. Madrid.