MOBBING IN THE WORKPLACE AMONG RESPONDENTS - TEACHERS EMPLOYED IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF THE CITY OF POZEGA, POZESKO-SLAVONSKA COUNTY, REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Initial research into the phenomenon of workplace mobbing dates back to 1972 and was conducted in Sweden. Of exceptional importance for determining the existence of mobbing, is a proper understanding of the behaviour that can be subsumed under the term as well as its clear distinction from the usual conflicts in the workplace and various forms of harassment. The aim of the present paper is to check the existence of mobbing in the workplace among respondents – teachers employed in secondary schools in the City of Pozega, Republic of Croatia. In this sense, the paper is divided into two parts in terms of content: theoretical and special part. In the theoretical part of the paper, mobbing will be conceptually defined and its distinction towards harassment as a form of discrimination will be analyzed. The theoretical part of the paper includes an overview of earlier research into mobbing in the EU and the Republic of Croatia and an analysis of the procedure for obtaining legal protection in the case of mobbing in accordance with applicable regulations of the Republic of Croatia. A special part of the paper is dedicated to the analysis of the results collected by the conducted empirical research. The mentioned research included 350 teachers employed in six secondary schools in the City of Pozega. These are the Gymnasium, the School of Economics, the Technical School, the School of Crafts, the School of Agriculture and Food and the Music School. At the end of the paper, the author presents concluding remarks in which she gives recommendations for improving the detected problems.