Introduction to the concept of mobbing

Introduction to the concept of mobbing

"Through their national work environmental acts Sweden, Finland and Norway support the rights of workers to remain both physically and mentally healthy at work. Yet, in recent years, a workplace-related psychosocial problem has been discovered, the existence and extent of which was not known earlier.

This phenomenon has been referred to as "mobbing", "ganging up on someone", "bullying" or "psychological terror". In this type of conflict, the victim is subjected to a systematic, stigmatizing process and encroachment of his or her civil rights. If it lasts a number of years, it may ultimately lead to ejection from the labor market when the individual in question is unable to find employment due to mental injury sustained at the former work place.

I introduced this phenomenon in 1984. It certainly is a very old one, well known in every culture from the very beginning of these cultures. Nevertheless, it has not been systematically described until the research started in 1982 which led to a small scientific report written in the fall of 1983 and published in early 1984 at The National Board of Occupational Safety and Health in Stockholm, Sweden

(Leymann & Gustavsson, 1984)"

quinta-feira, 21 de junho de 2007

Psicobiologia

"Do ponto de vista psicobiológico, os animais que se mostram agressivos e beligerantes no seu hábitat estão a marcar território e, além disso, salientam a existência de uma hierarquia de dominância e liderança na manada.

Vale dizer, os animais amedrontados transformam-se em seguidores dóceis, porque assim garantem a sua sobrevivência.

Constituem exemplos típicos, na Espanha, as ovelhas merinas, que avançam em rebanho atemorizadas pelos latidos e ameaças de ataque por parte do cão do pastor.

Tais comportamentos de carácter sociável são o resultado de uma selecção genética muito distante da que predomina entre as ovelhas escocesas, que caminham livres pelas alturas."

(Iñaki Piñuel Y Zabala in Mobbing - 2001)