Experts state that mobbing, meaning emotional harassment, bullying, or intimidation, is a phenomenon frequently encountered in society, especially in the workplace, and say that the phenomenon of mobbing manifests itself in every aspect of working life.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Yılmaz, a Human Resources Management expert, stating that mobbing is most frequently observed in the healthcare sector, said, “Among the reasons for this, healthcare workers are forced to provide healthcare services under increasingly difficult conditions as a result of a poorly managed healthcare system, and on the other hand, they are subjected to violence beyond mobbing by the relatives of patients who are also victims of the same system.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Yılmaz from Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health Management, evaluated how the phenomenon of mobbing spreads from workplaces to the broad dynamics of society and its negative effects.
Mobbing has become a frequently encountered phenomenon, especially in the workplace
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Yılmaz, a Human Resources Management expert, noted that mobbing, which means emotional harassment, bullying, or intimidation, is a phenomenon frequently encountered in society, especially in the workplace, and said, “A personality prone to mobbing is nurtured by dynamics extending from within the family, to the neighborhood they live in, the institutions they are educated in, social relationships, and the management style of society and organizations. Individuals raised in an oppressive family environment project their negative emotions onto other family members and other individuals with whom they interact in neighborhood and school settings.”
Healthcare workers are subjected to both mobbing and violence
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Yılmaz, evaluating whether there are sectors or occupational groups where mobbing is most prevalent in working life, said, “In fact, the phenomenon of mobbing manifests itself in every area of working life. However, we observe mobbing most frequently in the healthcare sector. Among the reasons for this, healthcare workers are forced to provide healthcare services under increasingly difficult conditions as a result of a poorly managed healthcare system, and on the other hand, they are subjected to violence beyond mobbing by the relatives of patients who are also victims of the same system.”
Women are more vulnerable to mobbing than men
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Yılmaz also stated that the general gender inequality against women in our society is an obvious fact, and said, “An upbringing nurtured by a patriarchal or male-dominated culture leaves women more vulnerable to mobbing than men in later life. However, the degree of harm experienced by individuals exposed to mobbing can vary according to personality traits, regardless of gender. For example, despite all negative social conditions, a woman with a strong personality and solid emotional resilience can be expected to be less affected by mobbing than a man who is weaker in this regard.”
Societies where mobbing is prevalent undermine individuals' mental health
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Yılmaz also explained that individuals in societies where mobbing is prevalent lead their lives with a constant uneasy state of mind, and continued as follows:
“This negative state of mind causes individuals to experience stress, sometimes severe, but generally widespread as chronic, low-level but continuous stress. Chronic stress, in particular, hinders individuals from forming nourishing relationships with other members of society. A person's negative state of mind spreads to others they communicate with, inevitably reflecting on both their private and work life. An individual subjected to mobbing in their personal and social relationships cannot be expected to show high productivity in their working life. Because a negative state of mind paralyzes a person both physically and cognitively; the person can neither behave properly nor think properly. Due to the structure of our brain, our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors work as a whole and strongly influence each other. Uneasy individuals in society also become part of uneasy organizations. Individuals who cannot foresee who will emotionally harass them cannot be expected to trust each other.”
Remote work models create emotional pressure on employees!
While remote work has many positive aspects, Yılmaz noted that it makes it difficult for individuals to achieve work-life balance, and said, “Working hours have become longer and less clear. The number and duration of online meetings increased due to their practicality. The quality of communication among individuals working in the same workplace decreased. The need to be constantly available and for the time allocated to work at home to be continuously monitored by managers, although not directly definable as mobbing, clearly creates emotional pressure on remote working organizational members.”
Mobbing can cause chronic stress in individuals
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serkan Yılmaz stated that working individuals spend a significant part of their lives in the workplace, and that workplaces are structures with meaning beyond just a place where one works for a fee to earn a living, and added, “A person also expects the institution where they spend the most productive hours of the day to be an environment that meets their emotional and social needs. If, in addition to meeting these natural human needs, they are also subjected to mobbing, it becomes very difficult for this person not to reflect their negative state of mind onto their social relationships and family life. Because emotions are contagious. Constant exposure to mobbing can cause chronic stress in an individual. This situation can disrupt a person's mental state as well as their physical health. Today, chronic stress is listed among the causes of many diseases.” He concluded his remarks.