ABSTRACT
The modern use of the term “mobbing” can be traced back to 1960s when it was first used by Konrad Lorenz, an Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist. It was described as the attack carried out by a group of small animals in response to a threat by a larger animal. In 1970s, Swedish physician Peter-Paul Heinemann conducted research on behavior that is classified as bullying and rowdyism among children. Heinz Leymann was the first scientist to operationalize the concept of mobbing in workplace in 1980s, using the term to describe the acts of psychological pressure, intimidation, and violence. His research conducted in Sweden and Germany proved that psychological pressure, intimidation, and violence were very common at workplaces. According to Leymann, mobbing at workplace was described as the “psychological terror applied systematically with hostile and immoral methods by one or more people towards another person” (Leymann, 1990, II Contenuto e lo Sviluppo del Mobbing sul Lavoro, Bologna: Pitagora Editrice, p.36). In 1998, International Labour Organization (ILO) published a report, written by Chappell and Di Martino, called Violence at Work (Chappell and Di Martino, 1998, “Violence at Work”, ILO Report). In this remarkable report, mobbing was mentioned along with murder and other violent behaviors. The consecutive ILO reports also analyzed mobbing in detail and reported as one of the major problems taking place in the workplace.
