It will be beneficial to consider the concept of mobbing, which is an important part of our life, which can be encountered in business life and can be very touristic, and to make a short research on mobbing applied due to gender in women and men. We will be categorized in every field with assigned gender roles and look at the mobbing applied by gender-based attacks as a result of this classification. Fundamental issues such as difficulties faced by women in male-dominated workplaces, exclusion, humiliation, not being equal to men in return for labor, or unwillingness of women to be employed in male-dominated workplaces may be the most obvious topics of mobbing towards women in business life.
Even people who practice mobbing in such basic issues or people who are mobbing
victims may not be aware of this mobbing. To be aware of this issue and to be aware of this bullying, to be aware of the situation of the mobbing practitioner and his victim, all kinds of work to be done are important, and these studies should be widely read and known in all business areas, and this situation should be studied to be aware of this situation.
The definition of mobbing and related terms
Mobbing also known as emotional abuse, psychological terror, or bullying in the workplace derives from the English word „to mob”. It can be translated as oppress, attack, or invade someone.
Mobbing ”means hostile and unethical communication being directed systematically by one or several people mainly toward one individual,” (Duffy & Sperry, 2012, p. 42).
Leymann considers mobbing as „negative communication treatment, which is directed against a person (with one or more others) occurring very often and in longer terms being identified as a relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.” At the same time, this whole long process occurs in the workplace (Leymann, 1993, p. 21).
On the one hand, the Czech author Halík defines mobbing as very expressive, on the other hand, this expression is more appropriate. ”Mobbing is a mean manipulating, systematic humiliation, psychological terror, maneuver, targeted induction of stress,” (Halík, 2008, p. 108).
Permanent suffering from this psychological pressure induces in the victims of mobbing feelings of inferiority and hopelessness leading to the essential mobber’s (the person doing the psychological terror) aim and consequence resignation of the injured.
Mobbing mostly ends with the resignation of a victim who does not have a sufficient amount of force and does not feel like staying in his working position. In the best case, there is a change of working position within a company. In the worst case, the victim leaves the particular company. The consequences linked to this fact do not relate only to an entity of a person but also to the whole business at all. These facts affect social isolation, and aggression accompanied by physical or verbal abuse and entail several adverse consequences, whether in the form of mental or physical difficulties. Like, the particular psychosomatic discomfort, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or even obsession. Headaches or problems with digestion and heart function are accompaniments features of mobbing victims.
So, what do we see if we want to take a look at mobbing together with gender classification and look at how these results affect women and men? Mobbing behavior can be exhibited by both genders, or both genders can be subject to mobbing in the same way. However, what are the situations when women and men experience these mobbings because of their gender? For example, what are the difficulties of being a female employee in a company where men are mostly men? What are the reasons that create these difficulties?
Distribution of mobbing according to demographic variables
Studies conducted on mobbing victims revealed that mobbing varies according to gender, age, and status and is applied more to people in certain age groups. People of all ages can be exposed to mobbing, but the results of the research show that young workers under a certain age and those who are qualified as elderly become more targets (Leymann, 1993a: 43).
According to the research, top-down (vertical) mobbing is more effective in organizations. It is possible to explain this situation with the abuse of power. Forcing employees from above in an imposing manner, destroying their self-expression opportunities, and not paying attention to their work causes mobbing acts in organizations.
In a study conducted by the Institute for Social Research in Germany in 2002, it was stated that women employees were exposed to mobbing 75 percent more than men and 1/9 of the employees felt the pressure of mobbing throughout their lives. According to the research, mobbing is an important problem for employees of all ages. More than half of mobbing victims are exposed to mobbing by their managers. The figures in Germany and the other European Union, which are relatively prominent in human resources, fundamental rights and freedoms, job security, and employee rights, show that mobbing is at a level that cannot be underestimated. However, these rates are assumed to be higher in less developed and developing countries (Tutar, 2004: 63).
Studies have revealed that women are exposed to mobbing more than men due to their social position and approximately two-thirds of the mobbing cases are female victims (Zapf, 1999: 12). However, in some countries including Sweden and Norway, it has been determined that there is no clear relationship between gender and mobbing, that is, women and men have similar conditions and chances in terms of exposure to mobbing (Lee, 2000: 594).
Namie (2000), Workplace Bullying Institute, in online research (bullyinginstitute.org), revealed that 16 percent of the 1000-person sample (800 women, 200 men) were victims of mobbing. In this study, it was determined that 81 percent of those who practice mobbing are administrators, 58 percent of the mobbing acts were done by women and 42 percent by men, and they mostly chose women as a target for both genders. While 63 percent of female targets are exposed to mobbing by another woman, 37 percent are exposed to mobbing by men. 62 percent of male targets were exposed to mobbing by other men, and 38 percent by women. It is also among the results of this study that women are exposed to mobbing more than men, both by women and men.
Mobbing, which is one of the elements of psychological violence, prevents physical violence. European knowledge draws attention to the rigid nature of the harassment. One of the important features is the time process and the other is related to the changing nature and type of harassment. In European countries, psychological violence is more common than physical violence (Yücetürk and Öke, 2005: 61 - 70).
Mobbing actions can vary according to gender. Female employees are exposed to mobbing more than male employees, and another study supports this situation (Kök, 2006: 169). The basis of the fact that women workers are more exposed to mobbing than men; Have different perspectives, and abilities, carry the events in their workplaces to their homes, and the competition between women more than male employees (Salin, 2003a: 40; 2005: 5).
The fact that female employees are mostly managed in business life and male employees are in managerial positions triggers the formation of gender differences in the formation of mobbing (Kelly, 2006: 7; scutt, 2005: 2).
Female employees are exposed to mobbing more than male employees. The study by Mikkelsen and Einarsen in 2002 on this huge difference between the two genders in Denmark is striking. In this study, it was revealed that mobbing applied to male employees was 9 percent and that mobbing to female employees was 91 percent.
According to the data, most mobbing cases occur through rumors, gossip, and slanders with a rate of 61.80 percent, and at least 26.50 percent by preventing the work or work done. Managers do not turn to the employee while implementing mobbing strategies on employees, first creating a situation that will make him humiliated within the organization, then attracting other employees and initiating the mobbing process.
Forms of mobbing and factors influencing work performance
One of the most important factors which influence mobbing behavior at
the workplace is the way of management at the workplace.
With the authoritarian style of management, the possibility of mobbing between the manager and the employee increases. In a system where male managers are predominant in our country and the world, different types of mobbing practices applied by male managers to employees of the opposite sex are a situation we encounter at a high rate.
Mobbing is also fueled when several applicants apply for one position. The effort from the side of workers who try to get a job is a source of competition and higher tensions. When it comes to competition, we can consider the conditions observed in the recruitment process for women and men. Women are excluded from business life as the responsible party for fulfilling their domestic responsibilities, and most of the business world is made male-dominated. On the other hand, what is expected from men and women during the recruitment stages is unfortunately not evaluated on the same standards. For a woman, having a child or even thinking about having a child is a big reason not to be taken. In this way, it is possible to encounter mobbing even in the step taken into business life.
There are several types of mobbing behavior in the workplace: (Horváth, 2001, p. 102)
More than one type of behavior can be observed for mobbing in the workplace. Even simple behaviors that you can never think of as mobbing can mean mobbing. Gossiping, Mockery, Co-worker isolation, Withholding important information, Administrative and operational measures, Excessive workload, Excessive criticism, and Sexual harassment, mentioned types are the most frequent forms of mobbing.
The victims of mobbing don’t usually realize that something wrong is happening. Some of them have been working without solving their problem for many years. This leads not only to the deterioration of their work performance but also to their psychical and physical health. According to a study done in Germany, 98.7% of the victims of mobbing are experiencing health problems or other negative work consequences. Almost half of them (43.9%) have health problems and in 15% of cases, mobbing was the reason for suicide (Sloan, 2010, p. 87)
Factors influencing the performance of the employees
Identifying mobbing behavior is not as easy as it may look. The reason is the wrong perception of what a mobber looks like. A person who mobbed his colleague in many cases not even realizes that he is doing something wrong.
Doctor Ruth Namie, is a clinical psychologist who focuses on mobbing in the workplace. She came to the conclusion conclusions: 52% of victims of mobbing are women, 62% of mobbers are men, 82% of individuals left their job as a consequence of mobbing, and 98% of co-workers knew mobbing at the workplace (Kohut, 2007, p. 35).
According to a survey done by the Workplace Bullying Institute (2012) in the United States that included 1604 respondents, 39% of the individuals confirmed that they had been mobbed and 58% of the respondents reported they were currently being mobbed (Carden & Boyd, 2013, p. 7)
The effect of mobbing on the health and performance of the employee
Mobbing has very negative consequences for the employee, whether from the perspective of health, but also work performance. Health problems for victims of mobbing are mainly headaches, stomach disorders, abdominal pains and end up in more serious mental disorders. Employee gradually stops to believe in himself, he considers himself incapable to solve even simple assignments.
Important findings deal with issues of how mobbing influences the performance of the individual. Job satisfaction, as well as effective commitment, decreased in the case of people who were exposed to mobbing. However, these people despite this stay working for the company because they don’t believe that they have a better alternative.
Based on the results of this research mentioned above, mobbing has negative effects on the company itself and individuals. The effects of mobbing in the workplace can be low morale, resignations, high fluctuation, poor performance, increased absenteeism, decreased productivity, damage to the business’s reputation, as well as costs of time spent investigating mobbing (Mills & Hall, 2014).
REFERENCES
Carden, L. & Boyd, R. (2013). Workplace bullying, utilizing a Risk Management Framework to address bullying in the workplace. Southern Journal of Business Ethics, 1–11.
Divincová, A., & Siváková, B. (2014). Mobbing at the workplace and its impact on employee performance. Human Resources Management & Ergonomics, 8(2).
Duffy, M. & Sperry, L. (2012). Mobbing. New York: Oxford University Press. 305 p. ISBN 978-0-19-538001-9.
Halík, J. (2008). Vedení a řízení lidských zdrojů [Leading and Human Resource Management]. Praha: Grada Publishing. 128 p. ISBN 978-80-247-2475-1.
Horváth, G. (2001). Mobbing – šikanovanie na pracovisku [Mobbing – Harassment in the Workplace]. (online). Available at: http://web.orange.sk/horvathgabo/mobbing.html.
KELLY Diana, J. (2006). “Workplace Bullying, Women and Workchoices. in Proceedings of Our Work lives" National Conference on Women and Industrial Relations, 12-14 July, Brisbane.
Kohut, M. (2007). Controlling, and Stopping Bullies and Bullying at Work. Florida: Atlantic Publishing Group. 100 p. ISBN 978-1-60138-236-8.
KÖK, Sabahat (2006). "İş Yaşamında Psiko-Şiddet Sarmalı Olarak Yıldırma", 14. Yönetim Organizasyon Kongre Bildirisi, Atatürk Üniversitesi, (Erzurum), ss.161-170.
LEE, Deborah (2000). “An Analysis of Workplace Bullying in the UK", Personnel Review, Vol.29, No. 5, pp.593-612.
Leymann, H. (1993). Mobbing: Psychoterror am Arbeitsplatz und wie man sich dagegen wehren kann. Reinbek: Rowohlt. 192 p. ISBN 3-499-13351-2.
LEYMANN, Heinz (1993a). “Ätiologie und Häufigkeit von Mobbing am Arbeitsplatz", Eine Ubersicht uber die Bisherige Forschung, 7(2),pp.271-283.
Mills, J. & Hall, CH. (2014). Workplace bullying – What’s Changing? New Zealand: Human Resources. 2p.
Sloan, M. L. (2010). A Story to Tell. Bullying and Mobbing in the Workplace. International Journal of Business and Social Science. (online). Available at: http://search.proquest.com/docview/904511534/792475402045402DPQ/3?accountid=49351.
TUTAR, Hasan (2004). İşyerlerinde Psikolojik Şiddet, B.3, Ankara: Platin Yayıncılık.
YÜCETÜRK, Elif, ÖKE, M. Kemal (2005). “Mobbing and Bullying: Legal Aspects Related to Workplace Bullying in Turkey", February, South East Review, pp. 61-70.
ZAPF, Dieter (1999a). “Organizational, Work, Group Related and Perso- nel Causes of Mobbing / Bullying at Work", International Journal Manpower, Vol.20, No:1/2, pp. 70- 85.
Comments