By Gina Simmons, Ph.D.
John got to work a little earlier so he could finish his report at a research institution before the rest of the staff arrived. As he entered the windowed office he was surprised to see two colleagues leave his work station. He touched his computer. It felt warm. He booted it up and on the screen appeared violent pornography. John looked up from his desk. The two colleagues remained silent, staring at their computer screens. “What the hell!” John exclaimed.
The next day he arrived early again. This time his computer felt cold. He entered his password and nothing. “Damn,” he said. “They changed my password.” Over an 18 month period John’s tires were slashed, files from his computer were deleted or changed, a colleague was given credit for his research, memos about meetings were emailed to him with a different time than the rest of the group. John, a victim of mobbing, eventually left on stress disability with severe symptoms of anxiety.
John’s troubles began when his supervisor started coming to work drunk. He talk to the supervisor, recommended counseling or AA and offered sympathy. Mike, the supervisor, enjoyed happy hours with the rest of the staff. John became the joke of the happy hour fun. Soon they would all giggle about the latest trick they could play on the boring, do-gooder John.
Depending on how researchers define it, between 18% and 70% of the U.S. workforce has experienced some form of workplace mobbing or bullying. Some researchers use the terms bullying and mobbing interchangeably and others define the terms differently. I think mobbing is different from bullying due to differences in the characteristics of the victim and the abuser. Most of us are familiar with the school yard bully. This tough guy usually picks on the weak or weird kid and may have a group of thugs who participate with him. Mobbing victims in the workplace tend to be strong, creative and envied by the perpetrators. The mobbing behavior targets victims who often have great value to the organization, but pose some threat to the mob boss(es). With intimidation, threats, exclusion and humiliation, the mob neutralizes the competency of the victim. Victims develop anxiety, insomnia, poor concentration, gastro-intestinal problems and heart disease.
Mobbing and bullying thrive in a leadership vacuum. Weak, corrupt, overworked or incompetent management form fertile ground for dysfunctional mobs to grow. If you think your workplace has a mobbing problem contact us. If senior management provides training, conflict resolution, discipline and sets a zero tolerance policy for this behavior, the workplace can recover.
If you believe mobbing is happening in your workplace, act quickly. Many people wait, hoping it will stop, or won’t get any worse. Unfortunately mobbing usually gets worse over time unless someone intervenes to stop it. If you see your work group excluding someone, using gossip or jokes to single someone out, say something like, “I don’t think any of us would like to be talked about that way,” or “hey, that’s not cool. We have to invite everyone.” Edmund Burke famously said, “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Often, all it takes is one individual to stand up for what’s right to stop what Phillip Zimbardo, Ph.D. calls “the Lucifer Effect.” Dr. Zimbardo offers some great advice on how to resist the social pressure that can make good people do very bad things.
Many victims feel embarrassed talking about the humiliating treatment they receive at work. Some have told me they fear being seen as petty, or paranoid. One woman wondered if she was getting paranoid when she began to worry that her tormentors could follow her home and hurt her family. If you believe you are a victim of mobbing here are a few suggestions to help you stay healthy and fight back:
- Keep a detailed, dated record of all harassment. Some, but not all mobbing behavior is illegal. Detailed records can help you protect yourself and your interests.
- Talk with family, friends and trusted work colleagues to develop a plan to attack the problem.
- Report the problem to your H.R. department.
- Make an appointment with your employee assistance professional.
- If you suffer from stress symptoms like insomnia and gastro-intestinal complaints see your medical doctor.
- Get a referral from your M.D. or insurance company for a competent counselor. This can prevent the development of more serious symptoms and provide another ally in your fight.
- Practice daily stress management including: exercise, meditation, healthy eating and social relationships.
- Avoid forming or joining an opposing mob. In basketball the retaliatory foul is usually the one that gets called (Thank you Jay Schneider for that observation). Don’t try to solve a problem by using the same corrupt tactics. It leaves you even more vulnerable.
If race, age, gender or other title VII protections are at issue, you may have some legal muscle. Whistleblower laws might apply as well. However, many mobbing cases fall between the cracks of legal and personnel policy protection. In that case you can still demand better treatment. Get help, practice stress management, develop a plan and don’t give up.
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Gang Stalking :: Tag you’re it! « Interactivemary // Oct 8, 2010 at 11:52 pm
[...] http://www.manageangerdaily.com/2010/03/how-to-combat-workplace-mobbing/ [...]
2 amy // Dec 30, 2010 at 3:50 am
I have been the target of whistleblowing mobbing. I told on my boss to HR…really just asking for help with a situation and since then, I have been tormented with fear, scare tactics, bosses changing calendar appts. and making it look like I am totally disregarding authority, and so many more things. I have been looking for help, but have not found much. I have researched and know that I have been living in fear…and with all the symptoms of PTSD. I have since been trying very hard to heal myself, but even during sleep, I am tormented by the fear that they are trying to instill in me. I have been looking for jobs, but this is a very specialized business and it would be hard to look without my bosses finding out and sabotaging it. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
3 Dr. Gina // Dec 31, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Amy, I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling PTSD symptoms. I have a few suggestions. Look for a psychologist or counselor who specializes in stress/anxiety/PTSD. You can find one through your health insurance carrier or from the American Psychological Association website (www.apa.org). It’s important to try to separate the worry you feel about what they might do, from the real things they have done. Worry about what might happen is a waste of our imagination and drains us of energy. Plus we start seeing everything as a threat even when things do not pose a threat. The therapist can help you come up with creative ways to help you sleep peacefully, (very important for endurance) cope with this job, and/or look for another job. I’m concerned about your comment that you think your bosses might try to sabotage you finding another job. How likely is that? If they find you threatening, they may want you to leave and therefore support you finding another job, or at least not bother to sabotage your efforts. Do you have any allies, friends, or supporters in your workplace? It’s important to talk with others and get their advice and support. When we feel fear we don’t always use the best judgment. Do you have family and friends outside of your workplace to provide you with encouragement and support? Try to make your life outside of work soothing to your spirit. Exercise, engage in hobbies, attend to friendships. That will help strengthen you during this time. I hope this helps. Let me know how you’re doing.
4 Susan // Feb 11, 2011 at 4:30 pm
I went to HR and was threatened.
There was a mass exodus before and after I left. Lots of grievances, EEO complaints, lawsuits. The agency wheeled and dealed to save face, rather than remedy the real problem of those in mgt positions who shouldn’t be.
I was there for 11 years, and one day left at the end of the day never to return. To this day I have nightmares, depression, anxiety, and agorophobia.
5 Jackie // Apr 23, 2011 at 4:09 am
I’m a victim of stalking and horizontal and upward mobbing at work and home. I believe it started in 2008 but didn’t feel the full effect until 2009. In my presence, people honk their car horn and set off their car alarm, play irritating music that can be heard pretty loud, drop things to startle me, play mosquito tones behind my back when I’m walking and do other annoying things. My family has been a blessing so If you have family you can count on, get their help, and take one day at a time. I don’t know if it will ever end but I believe the stalkers and harassers will be punished in this life or the next. Stay strong, listen to self help tapes, get an iPod or something similar, and think peace, harmony, and happiness to all before you go to sleep, when you wake up, and whenever you feel anxiety coming on.
6 Anonymous // May 26, 2011 at 6:37 am
I am going thru this now…I feellike I will die if I do not quit, so I am giving 2 weeks notice next week. I work hard & efficiently in a small company, all catty, crazy, dysfunctional women. All the “normals” quit…I am normal, so I am quitting!
7 Rebecca Croom // May 26, 2011 at 9:05 pm
I am a victim of mobbing @ this time ,have went to union,EEO,
HR,employee assistance program.things are getting worst would
likesome sugestions.Also saw private psycologist.
8 DrGina // May 27, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Thanks to Susan, Jackie, Anon and Rebecca for your comments. Sometimes when we go through difficult times it can feel as if everyone is against us and we have nowhere to go. This feeling causes anxiety that can make us feel trapped with no options. It’s helpful to contact people outside of our network to get advice and brainstorm ideas for coping with our predicament. When we get support and ideas from others we can choose a better option. It’s important to not let fear rule your life. Instead take steps to try to make things better.
Best wishes to you all!
9 Morolayo // Nov 25, 2011 at 8:00 am
I was a victim of workplace mobbing. I went to my boss, and the mob retaliated by getting him fired. When a new boss entered, the mob increased their harrassing behavior and individuals, like a secretary named Megan who wouldn’t participate in the harassment ran away from the department. The harrassers were all signigificantly less productive, significantly less attractive, signicantly less educated and making significantly less money. They spent 95 percent of their work days trying to figure out how to sabatoge my work space and my projects. They even followed me home and followed my son to his school and started getting my kindergartener harrassed at school. The new manager, insecure about his own knowledge of the job, since he was new, allowed the perpetrators to continue, and fabricated poor performance reviews for myself. When I went to HR, they put me on a poor performance plan to have me eliminated from the Fortune 30 company. I recognized what they were doing and took medical leave, and have been paid my salary without going to work for 17 months (STD & LTD) combined. Because they were concerned about lawsuits, because they know what they did, they sent private investigators to try to get copies of my current resume so they could prove that they were hiring employees as capable as I was. The company also hacked into my personal yahoo and gmail emails to find out what companies I was interviewing with. Mobbing is difficult business. They even put someone on a plane next to me when I was traveling for a job interview to pretend he had the same work situation with his employees to gather information to protect them from a lawsuit since they were all aware of exactly what was going on. HR works for the company, not for you, always remember that.
10 Morolayo // Dec 2, 2011 at 10:51 am
They also sent private investigators to probe and ask questions to cover for the invasion of privacy that the employees had violated to pretend that the company didn’t break the law to obtain personal information about me. Mobbing is a sick business. I moved 1700 miles away and they still won’t leave me alone.
11 Morolayo // Dec 2, 2011 at 11:16 am
This is how I’m combatting it:
Record all conversations that you have with your employer and their investigators.
Keep a detailed log of when they approach you and what is said: I’ve been approached in a McDonalds, at a church, in a library, at a professional luncheon, on an airplane flight, I’ve had individuals represent themselves as recruiters and hiring managers. They are breaking the law, just like News of the World. Also, back up your emails and your hard drives. There are companies that have moral standards and follow the law. Know that God will not allow you to work for those that represent themselves as moral and citizens that are not, you will work in a HEALTHY work environment, leave the sick environment.
12 Kelly // Feb 6, 2012 at 6:22 pm
I have also become a victim of mobbing. My boss hired this girl, soon afterward I noticed that she was receiving 30 calls a day from hubby and sons. Went to the boss and because she was friends with his wife, discounted it and said “its not your job to monitor her work, you are not her supervisor”. Needless to say 5 years down the road she got him fired, set him up and got him fired. She comes across at work to be fragile, she gets intimidated by strong personalities, she is quiet and so soft spoken you cannot hear her talk on the phone from 2 ft. away. She constantly “gas lights” me. I don’t get phone calls, she interferes in my work then says “so and so told me to do it”, she conveniently leaves me off the email list of important items going on, she cries at the drop of a hat if she thinks you are going to confront her about something. By crying the bosses steer clear of her and then come back and say my personality is just too strong and I intimidate her – when she is really throwing me under the bus constantly. Management just can’t see it – I am always “picking on her”, “being rude”, “short with her”. Its all in the way she “gas lights” me. She sets me up for a reaction and then when it comes, she cries, etc. Mobbing is not a couple of people – it can be just one with a lifetime of practice in getting what they want and playing “I am the wounded bird here”. It is sickening when you have years of experience and good references under your belt and this person has the power to “set you off”, it makes you look like the bad guy, like you are incompetent and picking on the wounded bird. Unbelievable.
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