Mobbing: a general overview

Abstract

In today's workplace mobbing is a problem of mayor relevance. The goal of this paper is not to thoroughly analyse mobbing; instead we highlight principal aspects of the problem and offer an ample understanding of it's relevance to different fields of psychology. We define mobbing and clarify some misconceptions of the term. We discuss the hierarchical direction of the abuse, the phases of the phenomenon and the strategies of the abuser. We describe relevant aspects of both the personality of the abuser and that of the victim; including the effects on the victim. Finally, we discuss the methodologies of the studies done on mobbing. We also compare mobbing to other phenomena outside the workplace.