Mobbing

Mobbing is a comprehensive set of systematic, intentional, and persistent negative behaviors directed by one or more individuals toward a targeted person. These behaviors aim to undermine, neutralize, or drive the victim out of their environment. Mobbing behaviors are detrimental to the victim’s personal rights, professional reputation, social relationships, and mental and physical health.

Origin and Definition of the Concept

The term “mobbing” is derived from the English word “mob,” which originates from the Latin “mobile vulgus”, meaning “the mobile crowd” or “easily incited mob.” The word “mob” evokes associations with brute force, coercion, and unlawful group actions. The term was first used in the 1960s by Austrian ethologist Konrad Lorenz to describe group aggression observed in the animal kingdom. Lorenz referred to the behavior in which small groups of animals collectively attack and exclude a stronger, solitary individual as “mobbing.”

Its adaptation to the workplace context was carried out in the 1980s by German-born Swedish work psychologist Dr. Heinz Leymann. According to Leymann, mobbing consists of unethical and destructive behaviors systematically applied by one or more employees, typically targeting a single individual. These behaviors are continuous, not random, and render the victim defenseless.

Mobbing Representative Image (Anadolu Agency)

Definition of Mobbing in Türkiye

The Turkish Language Association has equated the concept of mobbing with “bezdiri,” defining it as “systematically excluding or pressuring a specific individual in workplaces or communities to wear them down.”

According to the Guideline on Psychological Harassment (Mobbing) in Workplaces published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the Republic of Türkiye, mobbing is defined as a set of malicious behaviors carried out by an individual or group against another individual, conducted systematically over a specific period with the intent to cause harm.

Characteristics of Mobbing

The distinguishing features of mobbing are as follows:

• Continuity and systematicity: The behaviors are not isolated incidents but form recurring patterns occurring with regular frequency over time.
• Malice: The intent behind the behaviors is to harm the victim, remove them from their position, or break them down.
• Power imbalance: There is a clear or implicit power disparity between the parties. This imbalance may stem from institutional hierarchy, individual influence, or social status.
• Helplessness and vulnerability: The victim struggles to express themselves or defend against the systematic pressure.

Perpetrators and Victims

Mobbing refers to psychological harassment behaviors that are systematic and persistent, targeting a specific individual in the workplace. These behaviors can occur regardless of position in the organizational hierarchy: from superiors to subordinates, from subordinates to superiors, or among peers at the same level.

Actions considered part of mobbing include ignoring a person’s professional achievements, social isolation, deliberate obstruction of information sharing, excessive and arbitrary monitoring, ambiguous job definitions, and the constant provision of negative feedback. Such behaviors undermine teamwork, foster conflict, and disrupt organizational cohesion.

Mobbing victims are often individuals who perform their duties effectively, possess strong organizational communication skills, and demonstrate high job performance. However, personal characteristics such as speech patterns, physical appearance, dress style, ethnic origin, gender, age, or disability status can also contribute to the emergence of victimization. These factors may directly or indirectly influence the selection of targets for mobbing behaviors.

Mobbing Perpetrators and Mobbing Victim (Generated by Artificial Intelligence)

Difference Between Mobbing and Bullying

Mobbing primarily involves psychological pressure and isolation, whereas such negative attitudes may sometimes escalate into physical aggression or more direct forms of violence, in which case the term bullying may be used. In international terminology, mobbing is predominantly used to describe psychological harassment, while bullying refers more specifically to physical or direct aggressive behaviors. Mobbing typically denotes systematic psychological pressure exerted by a group against a single individual, whereas bullying usually involves one-on-one interactions and commonly includes physical or verbal aggression. Bullying is often perceived as behavior by higher-ranking individuals exerting power over subordinates, while mobbing can occur at all hierarchical levels.

Process and Consequences

The mobbing process typically begins with systematic attacks on the victim’s personality, professional competence, reliability, and dignity. Over time, the victim becomes isolated in the workplace, psychological pressure intensifies, and a decline in job performance becomes evident. As the process continues, symptoms such as burnout syndrome and depression may emerge.

At the organizational level, mobbing can lead to reduced productivity, weakened employee loyalty, and disruption of organizational structure. This not only damages the organization’s reputation but also contributes to increased employee turnover.