Mobbing is an important source of stress in the work environment, negatively affecting both professional satisfaction and the mental and physical health of employees. Based on clinical observations conducted in the 1990s, people who were victims of mobbing were described as maladjusted, helpless, filled with anxiety, and suffering from various psychosomatic disorders. Additionally, experiences of mobbing were associated with the occurrence of depression and impulsive behavior of the victims.

These observations were confirmed by the results of numerous studies, which clearly showed that constantly experiencing mobbing in the workplace causes intense emotional reactions in victims, such as fear, feelings of helplessness and shock, which translates into a significant deterioration of health. Attention was also focused on the consequences of mobbing for the organization. An increase in sickness absence, staff turnover and a decrease in productivity are unfavorable effects related to the practice of mobbing. These negative effects result from reduced commitment, creativity and morale of employees who experience psychological violence in their workplace. It is worth noting that the described effects generate not only financial problems for specific companies practicing mobbing, but also contribute to the economic burden of the entire society. The costs of treating mobbing victims, along with transferring them to disability or early retirement, have an impact on the overall economic burden on society.

Individual effects:

• mental and physical disorders (depression, anxiety, anger, insomnia, post-traumatic stress syndrome, chronic fatigue, problems with concentration and attention),
• psychosomatic disorders (musculoskeletal, gastric, circulatory system and nervous system),
• deterioration of the quality of social contacts,
• decreased commitment and motivation to work,
• decrease of efficiency.

Organizational effects:

• absenteeism,
• staff turnover,
• loss of productivity,
• lowering employee morale,
• costs related to conducting the investigation,
• costs related to compensation paid to victims,
• costs related to the loss of the company’s good image.

Social effects:

• costs of treatment and rehabilitation of victims,
• costs related to victims’ retirement and early retirement.

Source: CIOP and PIB materials

Source:https://www.seka.pl/consequences-mobbingu/

Supported by Norway through Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Programme “Social Dialogue – Decent Work”.