Psychological Harassment in the Workplace: Methods of Evaluation and Prevalence

Abstract

Abstract : Estimates of the prevalence of psychological harassment (mobbing / bullying) in the workplace vary enormously from one country to another . One of the main reasons for this variation is the method of evaluation used to make these estimates . Research on mobbing or bullying at work is basically guided by two methods : the perceived victimization method and the perceived exposure to bullying behaviors method . These methods , and their combination , were used to estimate the prevalence of bullying in a representative sample of the working population (N = 1730) of the Region of Valencia (Spain) . The results obtained suggest the following percentages of victims : (i) perceived victimization : 19 . 5% (N = 338) ; (ii) exposure to bullying behavior : 12 . 8% (N = 221) ; (iii) both methods : 8 . 4% (N = 146) . The study offers other results related to the correspondence between the methods , the most and least frequent bullying behaviors , and the gender and status of the bully .