Developing a Multi-Level, Multi-Perspective and Multi-Temporal Approach to Psychological Harassment at Work: Model and Case Study
Over the past fifteen years, numerous studies have been conducted concerning the problem of psychological harassment in the workplace. Nevertheless, many challenges remain in this field, both at a scientific level and in terms of intervention and diagnosis. One challenge in particular that remains is providing a better observation of the complexity and evolution of situations, taking into account more than one perspective and allowing for several levels of understanding. In this article, we present a case study in which all of the protagonists in an alleged harassment situation were questioned. The data are analyzed according to the Liège model. The article presents new findings pertaining to the psycho-socio-managerial dynamics of harassment, particularly, the existence of different sources of legitimacy for feeling harassed, and the maze of conflictual and victim relationships. The model’s implications for diagnosis and intervention are discussed at the end of the article.
Keywords
- mobbing
- bullying
- power
- Liège model
- victim
- socio-semantic analysis of discourse