Labor harassment (mobbing): its history and how it affects workers.

We review the history and main characteristics of this phenomenon that occurs in companies.

Just as we talk about bullying to refer to the harassment that some people suffer in the school environment, mobbing refers to the harassment suffered by certain workers in the company environment.

Today we are going to know some interesting facts about this labor phenomenon and its consequences.and its consequences.

Historical data on the term 'mobbing

The word Mobbing comes from the English (mob), to besiege, to harass, it comes from ethology, (study of animal behavior) especially from ornithology, branch of zoology that studies birds.

The phenomenon of harassment exists in all species, it is so widespread in the animal kingdom that it seems to have some evolutionary function, and the prominent ethologist Konrad Lorenz received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1973, for his contribution of his studies on animal behavior, a contribution to the behavioral sciences.

This term was coined by Konrad Lorenz, a zoologist of Austrian origin who had been studying animal behavior since 1966. He defined it as animal mobbing and saw that birds unite to defend themselves from predators and drive away the enemy. These behaviors in the animal kingdom end either with flight or with the death of the animal harassed by several.

The name Mobbing comes from the ethologist who realized how birds specifically united to discard a larger or different animal from the group until harassing it and chasing away predators that intimidated them, he saw that the harassed animals died of fear and therefore initiated the development of this concept, giving similarity to these behaviors with those of humans.

He realized that similar behaviors emerged in workplace bullying. The group tries to eliminate people who are different or appear threatening. Cultural, social, religious, etc. differences could give rise to this harassment.

However, it is from the 80s that the psychologist Heinz Leymann applies this term, initiates research on this type of behavior with a group of nurses who suffered from mobbing and ended up committing suicide.

Heinz Leymann, a German-born psychologist in the 1980s, was the first to develop the concept of mobbing in human relations in the world of work. He defined mobbing as a period of time of hostile attempts and actions, expressed by one or several people. It is hostile and unethical communication. This situation places a person in a position of helplessness, to know if you are facing a case of mobbing or harassment at work, it must occur at least once a week and for a certain period of time at least six months.

From a forensic perspective, this definition in the Courts is known as moral harassment at work to consider this it is necessary to demonstrate that social pressure has been exerted on the victim and this pressure is intended to emotionally destabilize the worker with the aim of undermining his ability to work and get rid of him through dismissal or inciting him by pressure to resign.

Personal problems should not be confused with mobbing.It is important to differentiate these behaviors of harassment, mistreatment and psychological harassment that occur in the workplace.

Hierarchies (or types) of mobbing

• HORIZONTAL, when it takes place between coworkers in the work environment. The workers have the same hierarchy, one who is active and exerts the violence and another passive one who receives it.
• VERTICAL DESCENDENT, is known as bossing and is exercised by the same boss or superior.
• VERTICAL UPWARD, when the boss is harassed by his staff.

The latter occurs less frequently, but it does happen.

Signs of workplace harassment

Harassment can manifest itself in several waysThe usual dynamic of harassment is that the harasser implements various hostile behavioral strategies while the victim acts in inhibited response to the harassment. Sometimes this harassment is shown in a subtle way, which sometimes is difficult to realize or casts doubt on what is happening.

It can be active, through shouting, insults, intrusions, humiliations, false accusations, or passive (by omission), for example, prohibiting the use of equipment, hindering the use of material or work equipment.

It should also be noted in terms of behaviors the spreading of rumors, verbal aggression, attacks on privacy ....

Consequences of mobbing on the victim's health

At the psychological level the symptoms are usually very varied, one of the main symptoms is anxiety, a continuous and threatening feeling, a sense of failure, frustration, helplessness, low self-esteem, apathy, fatigue, difficulty falling asleep, worry, nervousness, digestive problems. People who suffer from harassment at work will present a certain type of anxiety due to the feeling of not being able to perform or complete some activity imposed within the company.

The easiest symptoms to identify when there is harassment at work are low performance and absenteeism due to the lack of motivation felt by the employee to carry out an activity. due to the demotivation felt by the employee for carrying out tasks that either will never be right or will never be recognized by their superiors as important.

The most common diagnoses of mobbing are post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety. The effects caused by mobbing can be terrible, they can trigger severe depression, paranoid disorders and even completed suicides. Workplace harassment leaves a mark on the person who lives it since it can present a severe depression, the emotional, psychological and economic damages caused by living an experience of this magnitude are really incredible.

Labor harassment or Mobbing is a psychosocial risk that not only affects the person who is a victim, but also affects the company because the company suffers from low productivity and high costs. That is why it is so important to have a Human Resources area that is able to detect in time when any irregularity or injustice arises within the institution.

Mobbing is a form of aggression that generates a work environment that does not favor a good working environment. Labor harassment not only affects the victim but the entire organization due to loss of productivity, economic losses, loss of image of the company, if this comes to light, in addition to a bad working environment if the harassment is constant.

Mobbing is one of the psychosocial risks. This term mobbing is a complex phenomenon that encompasses different aspects such as psychological, cultural, social, ethical and legal factors.

In Latin America, only Colombia and Brazil have laws that regulate it; Mexico, despite its efforts, has not yet been able to implement a specific regulation for this phenomenon.

To speak of harassment in the workplace is essentially to speak of violating human dignity in a particularly sensitive area such as the workplace. in a particularly sensitive area, such as the workplace.

• Designating unnecessary, monotonous or repetitive jobs that are not necessary or that are useless
• Designating tasks below their qualifications, skills or competencies.
• Not assigning any work at all.
• Overwork, unjustified pressure or setting deadlines that are impossible to meet.
• Unannounced job changes
• Isolated job transfer
• Ignoring the person or not speaking to him/her.