Abstract :
[en] Workplace mobbing is a serious phenomenon that is costly to organizations and has various negative social, occupational, and health-related consequences. Since Leymann (1996) it is frequently assumed that a poor working environment will create conditions that encourage workplace mobbing. Theoretical explanations indicate that a poor working environment may increase the likelihood of interpersonal conflicts, that might end in mobbing of one of the conflict party (Hoel, & Salin, 2003). Another explanation points out, that a stressful work environment may lead to a reduction in performance or a violation of social norms and by thus lead to mobbing behavior (Neuman, & Baron, 2011). Many cross-sectional studies showed associations between workplace mobbing exposure and a poor psychosocial working environment (e.g., Agervold, & Mikkelsen, 2004). However, cross-sectional studies are problematic as the other theoretically plausible causal direction (i.e. workplace mobbing leads to a poor psychosocial work environment) cannot be ruled out statistically. There are only few studies that used a longitudinal design (e.g., Baillien, De Cuyper, & De Witte, 2011; Balducci, Cecchin, & Fraccaroli, 2012; Hauge, Skogstadt, & Einarsen, 2011) that showed mixed results. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of different psychosocial working conditions as predictors of mobbing exposure and its sequelae from a longitudinal perspective.
