Free access to the entire text for study and reading does not imply any assignment of the author/creator to his/her intellectual property rights, nor does he/she prohibit the reproduction, republication, copying, storage, sale, commercial use, transmission, distribution , publication, performance, downloading, uploading, translating, modifying in any way any part or summary of the thesis, without the express prior written consent of the author/creator. Mobbing in Greece - aspects of mobbing in the working environment during the years of economic crisis. First of all, I would like to sincerely and sincerely thank all the participants in the interviews who entrusted me with such painful experiences in their lives.
Purpose: The purpose of the research is to investigate the phenomenon of bullying in Greece in times of crisis. Difficulties include delayed payments, heavy workload, relationships with superiors, uncertainty and competition, discontinuity in the operation of the teams. Regarding the impact of the financial crisis, it was found that insecurity and fear of unemployment increased.
If we talk about the role of management, in most cases management is part of the problem, either because the harassers are members of the management team or because when employees complain to management, management does nothing to support them. Suggestions: Participants made suggestions for improving the situation related to: education, changes in company policy and the creation of a code of ethics, changes in the management team, dismissal of the supervisor who causes problems, evaluation of the applicant's personality before hiring, creation of a human resource management department, collective agreements and collective representation of employees, trade unions, formation of ethics teams and several audits.
INTRODUCTION
Problem definition and reasons of interest towards mobbing
It can even appear in organizations where their managements try to ensure satisfactory working conditions, undermine the quality of the work environment and negatively affect the quality and quantity of products or services produced. It can even threaten the survival of the company, even if it is not dealt with in time (Papalexandri & Galanaki, 2011). During the years of the economic crisis, the conditions in the working environment and the legal rights of employees changed a lot.
Unemployment, flexible forms of employment contracts and stress over performance excesses have changed work ethics and behavior towards employees or among colleagues. Furthermore, the research examines the characteristics of the people who are prone to being bullied (such as personality traits or position of authority).
Research aim and objectives
Dissertation overview
In the third chapter there is a description of the method, the sample and the procedure followed. The final chapter discusses the main conclusions of the research and offers suggestions for improving the current situation in the Greek market.
Literature review
- Definition of mobbing and its aspects
- International experience
- Theoretical approach of mobbing conditions
- Causes
- Theoretical models
- Consequences
- The relation of mobbing with work burnout
- The impact of the economic crisis
2011) adds to the forms of aggressive behavior the offense of the person's personality and work performance. Evidence of the prevalence of harassment is found in the Third European Survey of Working Conditions prepared by Paoli & Merllié (2001). At this stage, ethical harassment goes beyond the boundaries of the workplace (office, department, etc.) and becomes public in the wider work environment.
Hearing the negative opinions circulating in the workplace about this person, administrators usually prefer to side with the persecutors, not believing the victim's complaints. It is the final stage of the phenomenon, which includes the removal of the victim from the work environment. The systematic exposure of workers to ethical harassment has disastrous effects on the health and well-being of the exposed persons, and especially the victim.
In these cases, employees' trust in the employer and management and their commitment to the company's goals are negatively affected (Hoel & Cooper, 2000). It is noteworthy that the health of Greek workers has deteriorated significantly, and suicide rates have increased due to the current economic situation (Vagianos, Vettas & Megir, 2010). The onset of the crisis has brought about a number of changes in the formation of the labor market in Greece.
Seasonal, part-time and rotating employment became part of everyday life for workers in the country.
METHODOLOGY
- Methodological approach
- Sample selection
- Data collection and analysis
- Job description
A final but very important change that has occurred in the labor market during the economic crisis in Greece concerns the type of employment available to workers. This expansion of flexible working arrangements has further reduced wages for employees, who often work full-time and are paid for part-time work (Papapetrou, 2014). As mentioned above, the deterioration of the working environment is expected to have a negative impact on the rise of workplace mobbing.
Another advantage of qualitative research is the fact that the sample of participants is selected in a more focused manner, which results in the respondents having a better knowledge of the topic under consideration (Cohen & Manion, 1998). They are also able to describe working conditions, causes and consequences of mobbing to the individual and the organisation, but they can also assess the role that management plays in the management of mobbing. The research sample consists of nine people and it can be characterized as a convenience sample, since all the respondents were members of the family and friends of the researcher.
The sectors represented in the survey are hospitality and food industry (3 people), academic research area (2 people), book industry, multinational company (industry not mentioned), transport sector and former public organization. When the participants were informed about the purpose and object of the research and agreed to participate and record the conversation, they began the interview. The content of the interviews was recorded and then transcribed in order to be able to analyze it and obtain the results of the research.
The most important points of each interview were used in the Findings part of the thesis. In the first part of the interview, the participants presented the industry in which they work and described their work and the years they have been working in this position. According to their answers, the first participant has been working in the food industry for the past 22 years.
She has been employed in a research center for 7 years, and she belongs to the academic environment. She has been through many positions in the company due to the rotation system that the organization uses. Therefore, their answers show that the sectors represented in the research are the catering and food industry (3 people), the academic research area (2 people), the book industry, a multinational company (no reference is made to industry), transport. sector and a port authority.
INTERVIEW ANALYSIS- FINDINGS
- Working conditions
- The impact of the financial crisis
- Relationships with colleagues and superiors
- Description of incidents of moral harassment
- The employee’s feelings towards mobbing
- Interventions
- Consequences for the victims
- Causes of mobbing
- The attitude of the administration
There is a lot of uncertainty because they work with fixed-term contracts and there is no continuity in the functioning of the teams. Relations between the company's management and employees were very good, but during the time of the crisis, phenomena of mobbing emerged. Working in a multinational company, she suggests that the company was not as badly affected as smaller companies in the sector because there is support from the parent company.
The 2nd participant states that the owner of the company he works for is friendly, but there is suspicion towards him. The management in the case of the 3rd participant does not have official information, but. For the second participant, the consequences are different depending on the character of the person.
In the case of the company he is employed, mobbing is largely due to the character of the boss. In the case of the 4th respondent, it was not the financial crisis that led to the harassment, but the personality of the particular manager. In the case of the 8th respondent, the organization managed public money and there were problems of corruption.
Another reason is the structure of the organization and the functioning of groups, cliques, etc. In the last part of the interview, there was talk about the administration's attitude towards mobbing phenomena and the impact of the financial crisis on it. In the case of Participant 4, the management fired the boss who harassed them.
The fifth participant claims that the members of the administration are the ones who practice moral harassment against their subordinates. The seventh respondent replies that "the administration plays the role of mediator, unless there is clearly illegal behaviour, in which case the administration is obliged to intervene. In the case of the 9th participant, management does not have a complete picture of the problem.
In summary, the responses of the participants showed that in most cases the administration is part of the problem. First, because those who harass are members of the administration (as in the case of participants and 7).
CONCLUSIONS
Practical implications
On the other hand, authorities and labor unions should use these findings to protect the rights of employees and offer them legal and psychological solutions to the problem of mobbing.
Limitations of the research and propositions for future research
Workplace bullying and harassment and their relationships to work environment quality: An exploratory study. Measuring Exposure to Workplace Bullying: The Validity and Benefits of the Latent Class Clustering Approach. Prevalence and forms of bullying among professionals: A comparison of two different strategies for measuring bullying.
Ways of explaining workplace bullying: A review of the structures and processes that enable, motivate and encourage in the work environment. Interactive effects of abuse of control and entitlement on emotional exhaustion and coworker abuse.
Questions for the interview
Covering letter of the interview