Mobbing: Sometimes the Organization Is to Blame
A European framework agreement on work-related stress signed in 2004 is becoming applicable in member countries. Italy transposed it into law in 2004. A research study by Bocconi CROMA (Center for research in organization and management) in collaboration with the "Luigi Devoto" work clinic of Milan. The study was conducted on a double-blind sample of 285 people: 121 workers who had been bullied by colleagues or stressed by their jobs, and a control group of 164 employees who did not report such problems. This quantitative study was linked to a qualitative analysis made through interviews to labor market professionals (directors of personnel, CEOs, labor lawyers, unionists). The research findings were published in a book (Le cause organizzative del mobbing. Se il malato fosse l'organizzazione?, by Paola Caiozzo and Roberto Vaccani, Franco Angeli, 2010), and validate a diagnostic model that sought to trace the organizational predictors of mobbing. Data say that flat organizations (few, essential hierarchical levels) and transparency in the management of human resources are the best organizational antidotes to mobbing. Their opposites, top-down organizations with opaque employment practices are the best predictors of mobbing.
The effective implementation of organizational design (roles, functions, procedure) and its perceived usefulness by employees are also factors that help fight workplace-related stress and bullying. Also personnel policies that promote professional selection, career development, meritocracy and ongoing education reduce the probability of mobbing, while practices that are exclusively focused on control (administration, sanctions, labor conflict) augment that risk.
One significant result concerns the behavior of managers. Their style of leadership is a critical variable. An authoritative style of management that promotes participation and exchange is a strong antidote to mobbing. To the contrary, an authoritarian style of command increases the risk of bullying behaviors within the organization.
Considering organizational configurations, companies characterized by "flexible democracy" are less exposed to mobbing. These are companies with flat structures, open, development-oriented systems to manage people, authoritative managerial styles, good implementation of organizational planning, and high perceived utility of the organizational design.
As far as markets are concerned, the study found there was a causality link between business ethics and organizational ethics. In open, regulated, competitive markets, transparent and dynamic organizational settings seem to prevail, and tend toward maximizing efficiency and effectiveness. In industries dominated by monopolies and cartels, static organizations prevail, inspired by authoritarian, self-referential cultures.