Mental health and workplace bullying: the role of power, professions and 'on the job' training

Study of the professions, and the process of professionalisation as an occupational strategy, has mainly concentrated on investigating structures of power, rather than individual and deliberate use of power. This chapter provides a microanalysis of power relations by examining professional power and hierarchy in interpersonal relations within the workplace. It makes links across the spectrum of workplaces in which bullying occurs – from those where physical intimidation and threat of violence is experienced, to the professions and quasi-professions where legitimate power becomes the vehicle for invisible bullying practices. Arguably, it is within the professions that bullying occurs in its most rarefied form and, to understand the phenomenon, I argue that we should closely examine instances of workplace bullying where there is no one tangible or definable act but clearly an ongoing threat to an individual worker’s health and safety. In particular, I explore the positionality of the traditional professions within new organisational structures. The paper concludes with recommendations for the promotion of mental health at work that focus on both environmental and individual strategies.