Examples of Workplace Mobbing (Psychological Harassment) in Light of Court Decisions

In line with the examined decisions of the Court of Cassation, Council of State, Constitutional Court (AYM), and Regional Courts of Justice/Administrative Courts; workplace mobbing has been defined as a set of systematic, continuous, and intentional behaviors applied to employees with the aim of intimidation and marginalization. Concrete examples of mobbing identified in judicial decisions are presented below, categorized.

1. Attacks on Communication and Social Relationships The most common type of mobbing encountered in judicial decisions is the obstruction of an employee’s communication and their social isolation.

  • Verbal Harassment and Reprimand: Interrupting the employee, loudly reprimanding them, constantly criticizing them, humiliating them in meetings or in front of other employees/customers, shouting at them (Court of Cassation 9th Civil Chamber, Court of Cassation General Assembly of Civil Chambers, Constitutional Court).
  • Ignoring and Isolation: Treating the employee as if they don’t exist in the environment, cutting off communication, not greeting them, isolating them from other employees, confining them to a room or forcing them to sit in places unrelated to their duty, such as a drivers’ room (Court of Cassation 22nd Civil Chamber, Council of State 2nd Department).
  • Insult and Nicknaming: “Big-butt”, “insolent” – using insulting expressions like these, giving negative nicknames, making threats and insults like “Don’t your brains work?”, “I’ll end your career” (Court of Cassation 22nd Civil Chamber, Court of Cassation 9th Civil Chamber).
  • Damaging Reputation: Spreading unfounded rumors and gossip, slandering, labeling the employee as “dissident”, “the other side’s person”, or based on their beliefs (bigoted, religious, etc.) (Court of Cassation 22nd Civil Chamber, Regional Court of Justice Ankara 7th Civil Chamber).

2. Practices Regarding Job and Working Conditions Assignments made by the employer, abusing their management rights to harass the employee, are among the most concrete indicators of mobbing.

  • Constant Relocation: Frequent change of the employee’s workplace without a reasonable cause (e.g., 30 changes of location in 9 months, constant assignments to remote districts) (Supreme Court General Assembly, Supreme Court 9th Civil Chamber).
  • Assigning Unqualified or Onerous Tasks: Assigning passive tasks to employees in jobs requiring expertise (e.g., lawyers, engineers, etc.), tasks contradicting their career (e.g., a computer operator being made to wait at the operating room door), or assigning work far exceeding their capacity (Supreme Court 9th Civil Chamber, Constitutional Court).
  • Withholding Work Tools: Not providing necessary tools for work such as passwords, keys, desks, computers, radios, or access cards; clearing out their office or removing their nameplate (Supreme Court 22nd Civil Chamber, Council of State 5th Chamber, Council of State 2nd Chamber).
  • Setting Up for Failure: Assigning the employee to tasks for which they have no expertise or are known to be unable to perform (e.g., repairing a weapon they don’t know how to fix) and thus ensuring their failure (Supreme Court 22nd Civil Chamber).

3. Abuse of Administrative and Disciplinary Processes Judicial decisions have considered the use of disciplinary mechanisms as a tool of pressure within the scope of mobbing.

  • Systematic Investigations and Demand for Defense: Constant and arbitrary initiation of disciplinary investigations, frequent requests for written defense for trivial reasons (e.g., the manner of looking at a superior, simple mistakes) (Council of State 8th Chamber, Constitutional Court).
  • Blocking Leave and Rights: Denial of annual leave, maternity leave, or lunch breaks, demanding to carry the phone even when going to the restroom, non-payment of overtime wages (Court of Appeals 9th Civil Chamber, Council of State 8th Chamber).
  • Questioning Medical Reports: Non-acceptance of medical reports or prescriptions submitted by the employee due to formal reasons (such as not specifying a time), pressuring the employee even while on medical leave (Constitutional Court).

4. Severe Attacks on Personal Rights and Health In some decisions, mobbing has been defined as actions directly targeting the employee’s physical and psychological integrity.

  • Physical Assault and Threat: Throwing documents/envelopes onto the table, threats of physical violence, sexual harassment (Court of Appeals 22nd Civil Chamber, Court of Appeals 9th Civil Chamber).
  • Exploitation of Health Condition: Making fun of conditions like epilepsy or hearing impairment, using these conditions as an excuse to not assign work, forcibly taking the employee for a psychiatric examination or requesting the appointment of a guardian for them (Council of State 2nd Chamber, Constitutional Court).
  • Employment in Dangerous Work: Assigning tasks that endanger life safety (e.g., having electrical panels wiped with a wet cloth) (Court of Appeals 22nd Civil Chamber).

5. Discrimination and Union Pressure

  • Union Mobbing: Workers being pressured after joining a union, being threatened and subjected to ill-treatment (Court of Appeals 9th Civil Chamber).
  • Interference with Private Life: Deliberate disruption of the shift schedule after marriage (forcing night shifts), discrimination based on religious belief or lifestyle (Supreme Court 22nd Civil Chamber, Ankara Regional Administrative Court 7th Civil Chamber).

Concluding Assessment As emphasized in judicial decisions, for the aforementioned actions to be considered mobbing (psychological harassment), they must be systematic, continuous, intentional, and aimed at intimidating the employee. Instantaneous outbursts of anger or isolated rude behaviors are generally not classified as mobbing by judicial bodies, but rather as “workplace rudeness” or “mistreatment.”

Warning

The court decisions presented as references are factual and their accuracy is guaranteed; however, the report was generated by artificial intelligence and may contain errors.