Higher education institutions want to step up their fight against mobbing and discrimination affecting both employees and students. As part of the “Safe University” project, they will exchange best practices on anti-mobbing policies. Studies on the current situation in academic environments will also be conducted. Previous research by the Science Watch Poland Foundation indicates that mobbing is a fairly common phenomenon at universities, manifesting in ways characteristic of academic settings.
“Any behavior that bears the hallmarks of mobbing or discrimination concerns everyone—from university rectors to us at the ministry. That is why we started the Safe University project, which aims to diagnose the problem, assess its scale, and point out actions that can be taken to prevent and minimize it,” stresses Prof. Maria Mrówczyńska, PhD, DSc, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, in an interview with Newseria.
The project “University – a Safe Space Free from Mobbing and Discrimination: Actions to Support Anti-Mobbing Policies and Address Undesirable Behavior at Polish Universities” was launched on the initiative of the University of Warsaw and is supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW). The project initiators will investigate how Polish universities deal with mobbing and discrimination in work and academic environments. Based on research and audits, a catalog of best practices for implementing these activities will be created.
“In addition to thorough diagnosis and research, which we will definitely conduct as part of this project, it is crucial to invite universities to consciously participate in a competition for best anti-mobbing practices, complete self-assessment surveys to evaluate what they have done to counter mobbing and other undesirable behaviors, and to identify and promote best practices so that more universities each year give greater importance to these efforts,” explains Prof. Jacek Męcina, Head of the Department of Labor Law and Labor Market at the University of Warsaw and project initiator.
“We must remember that Poland has over 400 universities, and not all have developed protection systems like the largest ones,” emphasizes Dr. Barbara Godlewska-Bujok, member of the advisory team of the Council for Women in Higher Education and Science at the University of Warsaw’s Faculty of Management.
Currently, Polish universities have no legal obligation to implement anti-mobbing procedures. The Law on Higher Education and Science (known as the Constitution for Science) requires only that the rector and senate “ensure safety and protection of rights” of all academic community members. In practice, most large public universities have such policies and implement them largely due to community pressure.
“Cases occurring within university autonomy are of course addressed, and universities annually report on the situation. It should be noted that universities have more and more anti-mobbing procedures and commissions dealing with these issues. We are thus becoming increasingly sensitive to the problems of the entire academic environment,” says Prof. Maria Mrówczyńska.
In 2019, the Nauka Polska Foundation emailed 119 public university rectors requesting information on the introduction of internal anti-mobbing procedures and related employee training. Forty-two percent did not respond. Among those who replied, 78.2% confirmed they had procedures in place. One in five universities still lacked internal anti-mobbing procedures. About 35% of universities conducted informational training on anti-mobbing.
“There is certainly a need for greater university engagement in anti-mobbing activities. In my opinion, training about what mobbing is and how to report it against employees or students is essential, because the academic community is not just staff but also a large group of students who may also be exposed to such conduct,” emphasizes the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education.
“There is much to do in academia regarding protection and safety—not only physical but also psychological. For many years, we overlooked the sense of security, the need to feel safe without threats, which is crucial as it underlies issues like burnout leading people to leave academia,” notes Dr. Barbara Godlewska-Bujok.
Research confirms mobbing is relatively frequent at Polish universities. Data from the Science Watch Poland Foundation (2022) shows 63.5% of university employees have encountered mobbing. Analysis of workplace atmosphere questions reveals that 78.6% consider the environment unfriendly and hostile, and nearly all (98.96%) say employees are treated unequally.
“Ten years ago, no one talked about mobbing at universities. This environment should be especially pure ethically and morally, but in recent years these phenomena have emerged in media and our research showing mobbing is very prevalent. Initiatives like Safe University are extremely important to reach people because if we don’t talk about an issue, it simply doesn’t exist,” says Dr. Joanna Gruba, President of Science Watch Poland Foundation.
“More universities are paying attention, and besides implementing anti-mobbing practices, there is growing discussion on better communication so that efforts identifying, condemning, and eliminating undesirable behaviors become effective,” adds Prof. Jacek Męcina.
The “Map of Mobbing at Polish Universities” created by the foundation shows that the most common mobbing behaviors in academia, according to survey responses, are gossiping (67%), questioning decisions made (63.4%), and public criticism of work (nearly 60%). Every second employee experienced denial of funding for publications or conferences and being ignored in task distribution such as grant activities.
“Mobbing in academia is not just the generally classified actions described by Neumann. There are academic-specific behaviors, like adding a supervisor’s name to publications or teaching classes for a superior. Such actions are not found in other professions but occur in universities,” explains Dr. Joanna Gruba.
As a result of mobbing, 82.7% feel reduced self-worth, and 74% have decreased ability to engage in work. Over half reported mobbing incidents, often unsuccessfully.
Experts stress that unclear regulations and the fact that mobbing described in the Labor Code applies only to employees under employment contracts necessitate legal changes.
“This primarily means expanding the list of undesirable behaviors in law, e.g., stalking, cyberbullying, gender-based violence—which is the most common form. Also, the definition of mobbing is quite complex and very hard to prove in court, so changes are needed,” emphasizes Dr. Barbara Godlewska-Bujok.
On June 17, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education inaugurated the newly appointed Team for Identifying Best Practices and Developing Mechanisms to Prevent Mobbing, Support Well-Being of Persons Working and Studying in Higher Education and Science, and Promote Mental Health Prevention in Academia. The team’s tasks include legal analysis, mobbing risk identification, case studies, legal and procedural proposals (including protection for whistleblowers), analysis of mental health support and anti-mobbing actions, and preparation of recommendations on mental health and well-being in academia.
Experts discussed the Safe University project, anti-mobbing policies, and other ways to combat mobbing and discrimination at the inaugural conference held June 27 at the University of Warsaw.
The project “University – a Safe Space Free from Mobbing and Discrimination: Actions to Support Anti-Mobbing Policies and Address Undesirable Behavior at Polish Universities” is implemented by the University of Warsaw. It is financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and held under the honorary patronage of the Chief Labour Inspectorate and the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy.
