Bullying and well-being of municipalities employees in times of economic crisis

The aim of this research is to examine bullying and well-being of municipalities employees who remained at work after the economic collapse in October 2008. An online survey was conducted three times, in February 2010, in May 2011 and in February 2013 among employees of 20 municipalities with known e-mail addresses. The main findings are that bullying exists among employees of the municipalities, and it has increased between time points of the study. Social support at work is declining as well as satisfaction with management of the workplace and a desire to quit the job increases. Victims of bullying feel they receive less social support than those who have not experienced bullying at workplace; they are not as satisfied with management of the workplace and have a greater desire to quit the job. It can be concluded that bullying has become a serious problem in the workplace and must be dealt with immediately, especially since studies have shown that bullying at workplace has serious consequences for the health and well-being of victims and is considered a pest posing greater than all other work-related stress.