The new doctor in psychology
Kinshasa, January 21st, 2023 (CPA) – Psychological harassment at work and its impact on the mental and physical health of civil servants in the central services of the 54 general secretariats of the Civil Service in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the subject of a doctoral thesis defended Wednesday at the National Pedagogical University (UPN) in Kinshasa.
« Psychological harassment is a form of professional violence. This thesis drew up a portrait of the situation in the DRC. To do this, we proposed a model of harassment in the Congolese work environment in order to identify its prevalence and the psychological mechanisms likely to explain its effects on the psychological and professional functioning of workers, » said the head of work (CT) Bonny Mudiandambu Kimbilangundu, the author of the thesis.
« Our study is important in that it focuses essentially on the human capital dimension, which is often ignored in the various reforms. It is of personal, practical, political and scientific interest, » he said.
« From a personal point of view, the results of the study provide information on the experience of Congolese civil servants in their working environment in the face of psychological harassment, its extent, prevalence and impact on the performance of civil servants, » he added.
CT Mudiandambu Kimbilangundu also stressed that at the practical and political levels, the results of this thesis will allow the Congolese government to spare no effort in taking measures to channel the efforts of public administration actors towards a good organisation of work in the civil service. This should be done by focusing on the development of human capital to prevent the phenomenon of psychological harassment.
The academic secretary general of the UPN, Prof. Josué Mubedi, who presided over this academic session on behalf of the rector, conferred on the candidate the degree of doctor in psychology with the mention « the highest distinction ».
