Frequent development of mobbing at work: 3 stages

A series of frequent stages in the evolution of mobbing, beyond the most obvious.

Workplace bullying, also known as mobbing, is a subtle form of violence that takes place in the workplace. Often, and sometimes for spurious reasons, companies or organizations, aggressors and observers or witnesses use euphemisms to refer to this type of violence.

Thus, words such as "labor conflict", "power struggles", "fights between colleagues", "incompatible characters", etc. are used, as if these problems were something isolated between workers or had more to do with normal dynamics within organizations.

But the truth is that workplace bullying goes beyond a mere conflictual relationship between colleagues.. Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of this type of problem.

Characteristics of mobbing

At least three distinctive characteristics of mobbing can be identified.

1. The violence is exercised towards a victim who puts up little resistance.

In addition, there are often witnesses to this violence who will look the other way, avoiding interfering in the matter or, if they do, taking sides with the aggressor.

2. It is systematic and repeated violence over time.

However, these are usually episodes of medium or low intensity. Sometimes they are reduced to phrases and comments that could be judged as inconsequential by an outside observer. High-intensity acts of violence are rare.

However, it is precisely this low intensity and repetition that makes the situation more dangerous in the medium term (as a simile we could compare it to the torture of the "Chinese drop").

3. Violence is exercised intentionally and with a purpose.

The victim may not be aware of or understand these hidden interests.. Observers may not understand them either, either because they avoid paying attention to the situation of injustice or because the acts of aggression are often subtle and only perceived by the victim.

In order to achieve this goal, the bully follows a series of strategies, including isolation strategies that include isolation, hostility, discrediting and other forms of psychological violence. and other forms of psychological violence.

Development of workplace bullying

These acts of violence, when carried out on a continuous basis cause significant damage to health and other types of economic and social harm.. Workplace bullying could be understood as a process extended over time in which the victim goes through a series of stages that leave different psychological sequelae.

A possible course could be, for example, the following.

1. Stage of underestimating the damage

At the beginning of the harassment at work, the worker thinks that it is a transitory situation resulting from a problem or a misunderstanding, which prevents him from being which prevents him/her from being on guard and taking steps to defend him/herself.

2. Blaming oneself

Subsequently, once they perceive that they understand that the situation will not stop, they may ask themselves "why me? which erodes their self-esteem because he attributes the bullying to certain characteristics of his personality, blaming himself for it.

In these initial stages it is not uncommon for the victim to wonder, too, if she is being overly sensitive or exaggerating the situation. The fact that the episodes have a low intensity that is often only perceived by the victim has to do with these thoughts. The victim begins to doubt his or her own perceptions, which can lead to a phenomenon known as "derealization" (a perception of the outside world as something strange or unreal).

3. Anxiety

The continuity of the harassment over time provokes anxiety processes and depressive symptoms, which in turn worsen the situation partly because facilitates the impunity of the aggressor who justifies his behavior on the basis of the problematic situation the victim is going through.

Somatization" of the experience is also frequent, which, together with the stress it creates, can lead to stomach pains, skin irritations, headaches, etc.

In short, harassment at work has much more serious consequences for the victim than a simple "labor conflict".