Mobbing — this is collective psychological terror, harassment of an employee by his colleagues, subordinates or superiors in order to force him/her to leave their place of work. The means to achieve this goal are the spread of rumors, intimidation, social isolation and, in particular, humiliation. As a result of this ongoing, extremely pronounced hostility, the mental and physical condition of the person who has been the victim of such persecution may be greatly impaired. This article sheds light on the widespread phenomenon of mobbing and offers solutions and advice to victims, their families and organizations.
Millions of men and women of all ages, ethnicities and races hate going to work, gradually fall into despair, and often become seriously ill. Some have to flee from the job they once loved, while others endure this situation, unable to find a way out. “Every day was like going to the battlefield. I never knew when the next bomb would be dropped. Out of fear that anyone could be my enemy, I was afraid to trust anyone. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I knew that I would definitely need some relief soon. But there was no hope of a break,” Diana said when we asked her what she was going through every day. What's going on? Why is this happening? How widespread is this phenomenon? What can you do about this? These are the questions my co-authors, Ruth Schwartz and Gail Elliott, discuss in our book Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace.
The word “mobbing” means the behavior of colleagues, management or subordinates towards an employee when they periodically, for weeks, months and even years, carry out targeted harassment, attacks that infringe upon their self-esteem, reputation and professional competence. A person is directly or indirectly emotionally abused, constantly humiliated and often unfairly accused. The result is always psychological trauma and dismissal. Psychologist and medical scientist Dr. Hanz Leyman first conducted research on this phenomenon at workplaces in Sweden in the early 1980s. He called this behavior mobbing and described it as “psychological terror” that includes “the systematic hostile and unethical attitude of one or more people against another person, mostly one”. Leyman identified 45 behaviors typical of mobbing: withholding necessary information, social isolation, defamation, incessant criticism, spreading unfounded rumors, ridicule, yelling, etc. Since the organization ignores such behavior of its employees, condones or even provokes these actions, we can say that the victim, apparently helpless against strength and numbers, in fact, costs. has been granted. The health and mental state of a person who has been subjected to such attacks suffer greatly, with nervous diseases and a sense of social inferiority.
though mobbing et bullying — similar concepts, mobbing means harassment of an employee by the head of an organization, immediate supervisor, colleague or subordinate who involves others in systematic and frequent bullying. Bullying means “one-on-one” stalking. When it comes to mobbing, management is often tacitly involved in this process. This is why it is very rare for the victim to get help in such a case. Anyone can be mobbed. This is not aggression directed against someone who belongs to a certain protected circle as discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion or nationality. Therefore, bulling/mobbing refers to actions that David Yamada, a professor at Suffolk University Law School, called common to everyone, or “indistinguishable by status.”
Mobbing is a type of violence; it is emotional abuse. In the book “Violence at Work”, published by the International Labour Office (ILO) in 1998, mobbing and bullying are mentioned in the same way as murder, rape or robbery. And while bullying or mobbing may seem harmless compared to rape or other forms of physical abuse, the effect they have on the victim, especially if it lasts long enough, is so devastating that some people consider committing suicide. And we do not rule out the possibility that some cases of bouts of unmotivated aggression may be the result of the feelings experienced by people who were emotionally abused at work.
The consequences of mobbing and bullying primarily affect a person's health and mental state. Depending on the severity, frequency and duration of such exposure and how psychologically resistant a person is to it, people can suffer from a variety of psychological and physical disorders: from occasional sleep problems to nervous breakdowns, from irritability to depression, from difficulty concentrating to panic or even heart attacks. If an employee was only occasionally absent from work, then in the event of mobbing or bullying, this can turn into frequent and lengthy sick leave.
Many who have been the target of mobbing are so severely ill that they are no longer able to perform their duties. They end up quitting voluntarily or against it, ending their contract, or having to retire early. Strangely enough, they make the victims themselves guilty of this and present them as people who have caused these misfortunes themselves. And in many cases, after a person is fired or has left on his own, the health problems that have arisen can remain and even worsen and lead to a diagnosis such as post-traumatic stress disorder. But it is not only the mental state and human health that are severely affected. The consequences also have a serious impact on these people's families and the organizations in which they work. Relationships suffer, and the company's labor productivity is falling, as people's energy is spent on mobbing, and not on important daily tasks.
It often starts with a conflict, anyone at that. Such a conflict often arises from various kinds of changes. And it doesn't matter how hard a person tries to solve the problem — the conflict is insoluble. Such a person seems to have nowhere to get help. The conflict is not disappearing, but is gradually escalating to the point where there is no turning back. What could be solved with at least a little bit of goodwill and with the help of appropriate local governance mechanisms is now turning into a dispute “who is right and who is wrong”.
Some of the employee's accusations and humiliations may be caused by the unhealthy psychological atmosphere that prevails in the organization, which requires finding a scapegoat, as well as by the thirst for power over others and personal malice dictated by fears or envy. This is where group psychology and the complex interweaving of organizational social processes come into play.
You might ask why this is happening and why such harassment is allowed in the workplace, when today there are more structures and laws in place to protect workers than ever before? We believe that there are three reasons why this is happening. The first of these is ignoring the manifestations of mobbing, tolerating it, misinterpreting it, or actually deliberately provoking it by the company itself or the organization's management. The second reason is that such actions still do not qualify as workplace actions that are completely different from sexual harassment or discrimination. And finally, the third reason is that in most cases, victims are simply exhausted. They're exhausted and unable to defend themselves, let alone start legal proceedings.
In 1991 Brady Wilson, a clinical psychologist who specializes in treating psychological trauma at work, wrote in the Personnel Journal (now Workforce Magazine) that “psychological abuse of workers has cost billions of dollars. Psychological trauma sustained at work as a result of mobbing is a more destructive factor for employees and employers than all other work-related stresses combined.” The actual losses, which are reflected in lower labor productivity, the costs of medical care and legal proceedings, not to mention the socio-psychological consequences, have yet to be calculated. Dr. Harvey Hornstein, a professor of organizational social psychology at Columbia University College of Education, estimates in his book Brutal Bosses and Their Prey that as many as 20 million Americans are mistreated at work every day, and it's time to talk about an epidemic.
Be that as it may, more and more people are learning about this phenomenon. The problem of bullying and mobbing at work is increasingly being discussed in the media and professional communities. Scientists studying behavioral patterns in organizations are now paying attention to this problem as well. Thus, over the past two years, a number of publications have appeared in scientific journals and several books have been written on maltreatment in the workplace, abuse by superiors, and the problem of bullying and mobbing.
Increased awareness of the problem has led to the creation of several organizations that provide assistance in the face of difficulties at work, where people can turn for support. Those who have been mobbed or bullied have a number of options to deal with this. Most importantly, they must understand that what they are experiencing now has a name; this phenomenon has become well known and is being studied more and more. They must understand that they have been victimized and that there is almost nothing they can do about it. Second, they need to consider how they can solve the problem over a short, medium or long period of time: is there a way to get help that they haven't tried yet? Can I move to another position within the company? Are they ready to look for another job? What do you need to do to prepare for this transition? Is medical or preventive care necessary? We advise these people to carefully evaluate all their options, try to be confident in themselves and, most importantly, to control the situation. We also recommend leaving this job, and the sooner the better. It is better to make these temporary sacrifices than to endure ongoing humiliation, which can later have a much greater negative impact on health.
Management also needs to be vigilant and recognize the first signs of mobbing. The company's policy, which obliges employees to respect each other and encourages courteous treatment, helps prevent the occurrence of mobbing. Specialists from the European Association for Psychotherapy have a special right to define mobbing as a possible reason for an employee to seek help. They are often the first person an employee who has socio-psychological problems turns to or is referred to. It is therefore imperative that people are aware of the effects of mobbing at work as a possible high-risk factor.
Thanks to the large amount of literature and media covering this topic in Europe, the problem of workplace mobbing has become widely known. Not only has mobbing become a well-known word in Scandinavia and German-speaking countries, but in order to address the problem of mobbing by law, several countries have adopted new laws that prevent this phenomenon and protect and ensure the safety of employees at work, including the emotional component of health at work. For example, in 1993. The Swedish National Occupational Safety Authority has adopted a provision on workplace harassment. Moreover, new organizations have been created to help victims of mobbing across Europe and Australia. Measures to combat the manifestations of mobbing, to assist its victims and to prevent the occurrence of this phenomenon in the future were taken in a relatively short period of time. For example, the daily press published hotline numbers and contact addresses for advice on this issue.
Mobbing — this is emotional abuse, maltreatment that is directly or indirectly carried out by a group of employees against one of the employees. People who have been mobbed suffer greatly. Mobbing is a serious workplace problem that in most cases results in the employee being fired voluntarily or against him. The social and economic consequences of the mobbing syndrome have yet to be quantified. Mobbing can only continue to exist for as long as it's allowed. The management of the organization plays a crucial role in preventing this phenomenon. If you insist on good manners, polite treatment and high moral standards at the workplace and create an atmosphere of care for employees, then the occurrence of mobbing and bullying can be prevented. Millions of executives at various levels and thousands of companies do just that. They are a good example and a real haven for their employees.
Noah Davenport, Iowa State University professor, conflict management expert, is one of the authors of Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the U.S. Workplace. He has recently been a trainer at DNZ Training and Consulting.
.png)
