Abstract
This chapter discusses an action research project into the lived experience of the workplace mobbing phenomenon. The action research methodology is based on the exemplarian model (Coenen & Khonraad, 2003) from the Netherlands Group. This model requires positive outcomes for those immersed in the problem to reduce the adversity of their circumstances. The findings challenge the psychological perspective of the existing bullying literature that tends to focus on individual behaviour. This research, undertaken over a three year period with 212 participants, identified the dysfunctional nature of public sector bureaucracies and the power gained through gossip and rumour as some of the key emergent themes to explain the workplace mobbing problem. In addition, resistance, conscientisation, and agency were identified as the key to transformation for those targeted.
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Shallcross, L., Ramsay, S., Barker, M. (2012). Qualitative Inquiry as Transformation and Agency. In: Vicars, M., McKenna, T., White, J. (eds) Discourse, Power, and Resistance Down Under. Transgressions, vol 88. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-037-8_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6209-037-8_10
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