Mobbing: explanatory models and labour union’s action

Abstract

Mobbing has turned into an emergent psychosocial risk in the current world of work. It is a real fact in the face of which different institutions and social agents try to react, promote its study, and carry out preventive proposals. Several theoretical models used to account for mobbing are here analysed, and their virtues and shortcomings are highlighted, with the aim of suggesting a new model of analysis based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practical action. It is shown, through a case study, how this new model is capable of integrating many of the contributions of the other models, while allowing for deeper analysis and greater explanatory power. In addition, the article includes a protocol for the analysis of mobbing cases, which is based on the suggested model.