 "Your Online PR and Free Content Source" Submit Your Articles, Press Releases, Books/Ebooks, Get Free Content. Log In 1-Minute Video: How This Site Works |
|
|
"Your Online PR and Free Content Source" Submit Your Articles, Press Releases, Books/Ebooks, Get Free Content. Log In 1-Minute Video: How This Site Works |
|
|
What's Going on with Mobbing, Bullying and Work Harassment Internationally
|
“Mobbing can be understood as the stressor to beat all stressors,” says Dr. Kenneth Westhaus, U. of Waterloo, author of “Eliminating Professors”. According to him, the typical mob victim is a good-to-high achiever personally invested in a formally secure job who somehow threatens or shames co-workers or managers who then decide to get rid of him or her.
EUROPE 15% of workers in the European Union (EU) suffer psychological harassment or “mobbing” on the job [Study by University of Alcal de Henares, in Spain]. Last year, EU working groups failed to agree on adoption of an EU-wide statute against mobbing. Opposition came from business associations backed by governments of Spain, Britain and Italy. The bloc’s trade unions lobbied for anti-mobbing regulations, supported by the governments of Germany, France and the Netherlands. (COMTEX, 10/02)
BELGIUM A European conference, “Preventing Violence and Harassment in the Workplace” will be held April 29, organized by the Belgian Federal Ministry for Employment and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living & Working Conditions. Concern about harassment and violence is growing, and Belgium has a law on harassment in the pipeline.
Foundation research indicates that in 2000 about 9% of EU workers experienced intimidation or harassment at work. Nearly 13% reported being aware of physical violence in their place of work. It’s believed the problem is on the rise throughout all EU Member States.
SPAIN 1 out of 3 employees has suffered psychological aggression or emotional violence in the workplace at some time, says sociologist Angel Crcova, appointed to the EU group by one of Spain’s central trade unions. In July, Spain’s Supreme Court ordered the municipal government of Coria to pay 4,500 euros to compensate an employee who was forced to work in a basement with neither daylight nor ventilation. The judges called it “moral harassment.” In Gerona, a tool company was sentenced to pay 14,000 euros for “biased psychological pressure” and another 30,000 euros in compensation for psychological damages to an employee forced to do work outside his job description and below his qualifications.
“Mobbing is the number one work-related threat faced by workers,” noted Inaki Pinuel, a professor of psychology at the University at Alcal.
Tierno Jimenez, a psychologist, educator and winner of the UNESCO Medal of Honor, explained that article four of Spain’s “workers’ statute” states that businesses “ensure the physical and psychological integrity of workers, and respect for their privacy, dignity, and emotional well-being. Now the question, he said, is to get Spain and the rest of the EU to adopt regulations against mobbing which could be enforced by labor ministries in the bloc without having to wait for legal rulings, and to raise workers’ awareness of their right to fight psychological harassment and bullying. (COMTEX)
CANADA In Dr. Westhues’ summary of mobbing for OHS Canada, Canada’s Occupational Health & Safety Magazine, published on the web 1/03, he states mobbing “appears to be more common in the professional service sector – such as education and health care – where work is complex, goals ambiguous, best practices debatable, and market discipline far away.”
UNITED STATES 38% of 1,580 surveyed health employees experienced harassment the year before - changing rules or objectives, not providing critical information, isolation, stress to perform, and being excluded. The study concluded that workplace harassment resulted in “severe psychological distress and reduced job satisfaction.” [Quine]
42% of participants reported having witnessed others being targeted. The study concluded, therefore, that harassment wasn’t an illusion of the targets.
GERMANY Bullying at work is more widespread in Germany than in other European countries, according to a report by Germany’s Ministry of Labour. There have been several suicides; most of the victims are women; the worst bullies are men; and it’s found in all sectors, factories as well as offices. The problem costs the state £100 million a year in medical costs, plus lost working days. The Mobbing Report, a survey of 4,400 workers, estimated that 800,000 people were suffering "intolerable" abuse every day and that 1.5 million workers suffered sickness caused by bullying. The Government is considering legislating to tackle the problem.
Civil servants are 7x as likely to report workplace impropriety. “These bullies have a lot to lose in their jobs-for-life mindset if they feel threatened by newcomers,” reported Allan Hall, Berlin. IRELAND Michael Smith, TD, Minister for Defence, Dublin, has ordered a committee set up to review the extent of harassment, bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment throughout the Irish Defence Forces. NIOSH ”Sensational acts of co-worker violence,” says the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, “are only a small part of the problem.” An average of 20 US workers are murdered and 18,000 assaulted each week at work-and this doesn’t include bullying, threats, and other forms of verbal, physical and sexual harassment.
US WORKPLACE VIOLENCE “Preventing on-the-job violence is difficult,” says Peter Freiberg, writing on bullying in the APA Monitor, (American Psychological Association) “because it often involves changing the very culture of the workplaces.” There are no statistics on the extent of workplace bullying, but Mark Braverman, Ph.D., who consults on workplace issues, says the behavior is 'endemic' in some organizations.
“Bullying and intimidation can’t happen unless there is a climate that allows it,” says Braverman. “And that climate discourages employees from reporting potentially violent behavior that may be 'early warning signs' of individual breakdown and severe workplace stress.”
Braverman and other psychologists feel the reality is even worse than the headlines make it appear.
NORWAY In Norway, the daily VG reported that Jarle Skjørberg, 34, suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome, which “arises from a delayed or protracted reaction to unusually threatening or catastrophic events,” was awarded a record NOK 3.2 million (USD 383,000) in compensation for being bullied at Høyenhall School in Oslo. The court ruled the school's failure to intervene was beyond a doubt responsible for the scope and duration of the bullying, and ordered the Oslo municipality to pay damages.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA The Workplace Bullying and Harassment Management & Prevention Programme of the Australian Nursing Federation was awarded the Australian Crime & Violence Prevention Award by the Minister for Justice and Customs. They place direct responsibility for preventing and eradicating abusive behaviours on managers and supervisors, and stress targets of bullying are often unable to come forward and advocate on their own behalf.
The effects of bullying they say are “increased sick leave, increased compensation claims, absenteeism, low morale, reduced productivity, and low retention. In one study, 80% of nurses reported having been harassed the year prior.
ONTARIO Julian Barling, Ph.D., professor of organizational behavior at Queen’s University, Kingston, says aggression in the workplace is more likely when 2 factors are present: psychologically unhealthy peopl
Le mobbing est un poison lent - Mobbing ist ein leises Gift Zuletzt geändert The Germans and the French call it "the slow poison."
Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc , mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc. Coaching, Internet courses and ebooks around emotional intelligence for your personal and professional success. Coach Certification Program - fast, affordable, no-residency, training coaches worldwide. Email for free ezine.
Books by this Author
How to Attract Your Dream Man & Marry Him
Susan Dunn is "How to Attract your Dream Man" Expert for a major website. This ebooks is for women 40 and over. We demystify the dating process, tell you what works and what doesn't if you want marriage, how to gain confidence and get in control of your dating. Also what Internet sites to use and how to work them.
How to Develop Your Child's Emotional Intelligence
You know by now that one of the most important parenting tasks is to give your child good emotional intelligence. It can be more important to their success in life than their IQ, and it can be taught. Leading international expert on emotional intelligence Susan Dunn gives you practical tips on how to do it.
Contact the Author
|
Keywords: harassment, bullying, mobbing, emotional intelligence, career, management, human resources, business
This article has been viewed 3939 time(s).
Does this article infringe on your copyright?
IdeaMarketers.com
It is a violation of our terms and conditions for writers to submit material which they did not write and claim it as their own.
If this article infringes on your copyrights, you MUST either call us at 706-866-2295 or send proof of infringement
along with the offending article's title, URL, and writer name to
Attn: Marnie Pehrson - Copyright Concern
514 Old Hickory Ln
Ringgold GA 30736 USA
If you email us or use our problem submission form, we CANNOT guarantee we'll receive your notice!
|
SheLovesGod
| Books
| Create A WOW
| I Am Joyful
| SyndicatedWriters |
ReadyToPublish |
EzineBuilder |
Good News |
LocateACoach
|
|
Media Room -
For Writers -
Writer Signup -
Get Content -
Info Desk -
About
IdeaMarketers is a Project of Pehrson Web Group |
Please Note: IdeaMarketers is a free-forum where
anyone may sign up for a free writer account or publisher account and post. It is always up to the
discretion of the visitor to decide about anything mentioned on the service. We do not personally
endorse any company, person, product or service listed on our site unless we explicitly say we are endorsing them.
Cutting edge articles
and exclusive audio interviews with experts like Kathleen Gage, Janis Pettit,
Denise Wakeman, Marnie Pehrson, Ellen Britt, Adam Urbanski, Nancy Marmolejo,
Milana Leshinsky, Michele PW & More!
