A Snapshot of Turkey: Awareness and Impacts of Mobbing

In order to understand the scope of the problem, we have to understand its impact on an individual and corporate scale. It is possible for psychological abuse to happen in any workplace, private or public, and any employee may also be a victim of psychological abuse. Although the effects of mobbing are initially take effect on the physiological and psychological health of the victim, its impact is not limited to the individual. Such pressures on individuals can poison the workplace culture and decrease workforce efficiency. As such, mobbing is not only a matter to be evaluated in terms of its impact on the individual, it is also an issue which increases human resources costs and has consequences on the national economy.

Mobbing on an Individual Scale

Mobbing is not always easy to distinguish. Employees may not immediately understand that they are a victim of mobbing, however its effects may rapidly spread to many areas of their lives. The impact of mobbing can vary depending on the individual response. However, it is generally regarded that mobbing can cause serious illnesses such as cardiovascular diseases and depression. Court rulings relating to mobbing, in Turkey and many other countries, have determined that the victims of mobbing suffer sleep, eating and stress disorders which may require clinical treatment. In addition, damage to family and other social relations have also been observed in mobbing victims.

Unfortunately, research which can provide quantifiable information on the effects of mobbing in Turkey is limited.

Mobbing as a Corporate Matter

Mobbing cases are rarely isolated to a single individual. According to the data of the Mobbing Prevention Association (of Turkey), 87 percent of employees who are victims of mobbing state that they have witnessed other employees being subjected to similar behaviour. As such, mobbing may be widely accepted and have significant effects on the company and across the country.

Just for the purposes of providing an understating of the scale of impact mobbing has, according to a report published by the International Labour Organisation, in France, the total cost of work-related stress in 2007 was estimated to be between €1.9 and € 3 billion, including costs related to healthcare (€ 124– 199 million), absenteeism (€ 826–1,284 million), loss of activity (€ 756–1,235 million) and loss of productivity due to premature death (€ 166–279 million).

Moreover, companies will suffer significant losses from high employee turnover rates, inefficient work force, loss of specialised staff and, probably, most importantly the lack of development of a corporate culture with creative and highly motivated individuals. According to data from the Mobbing Prevention Association (of Turkey), about 7 percent of employees who are subject to mobbing resign and 15 percent request a transfer.

Dealing with the Problem

Although mobbing has significant and lasting effects on all stakeholders of business relations, there are unfortunately no comprehensive initiatives to increase awareness and prevention on a personal and corporate scale. A study conducted by PeryönTürkiye Human Management Association and Towers Watson in 2013 showed that only 15 percent of employers are trained on how to deal with mobbing among employees. In addition, in the same study, only about 15 percent of employers think that employees are aware of mobbing.

These findings show that providing and sharing informative resources about mobbing in the workplace and making them accessible to companies and employees should be a priority.