Workplace Mobbing

Remember the stories about the whimp and the bully? They were all at the beach enjoying themselves and the bully insisted on picking on the poor whimpy little guy by kicking sand in his face while all the other kids stood around laughing at him?

This is what the structure of workplace mobbing looks like and is the same whether it’s kids on the beach or people on the job. Basically it’s made up like this. There is one bully that the other people in the mob follow around and watch as he intimidates one of the workers with a weaker or more vulnerable personality.

Where Did It All Start?

Research has shown that most instigators of workplace mobbing didn’t just start this kind of bullying on the job but rather have a whole lifetime of this type of behavior starting at a very young age. As you have probably heard from children or seen on the news, schoolyard bullies are all over the place and have the school officials combating the problem on a daily basis.

The other children who follow this bully around (the mob) to see what he will do next will then do the same to impress the main bully or be part of the group so to speak and avoid the same treatment as the target is experiencing. They will look at it like it’s  a “your either with me or against me” type of a situation that they (the mob) are in.

It Progresses Into Your Workplace

Workplace mobbing is what is normally used to describe any type of emotional abuse or workplace conflict such as harassment, belittling or some type of verbal abuse on the job, as it was in the school yard, that will demean a person for no reason other than to make the main bully of the mob stand out as someone not to be messed with.

The other types of mobbing will entail the use of sabotaging a persons work by way of making it incorrect or stealing ideas, that sort of thing. This will be done in small increments as to where the target probably doesn’t even realize it is happening until being called on the carpet by their supervisor for the mistakes.

Over time this sabotaging will take it’s toll on your psychological well being too. You will start doubting your capabilities to the point where you are constantly double and triple checking your work for mistakes.

This mobbing isn’t done by one certain individual though but consists of several people that are out to get to one particular person, usually in the same area as they are working. Mobbing can occur simply because one of the workforce simply does not like another person and starts spreading rumors or sabotaging them while their friends watch and participate in the harassment.

Psychological Terrorism?

Workplace mobbing can also be considered psychological terrorism, workplace bullying, a hostile workplace environment, psychological manipulation and emotional violence carried out by a group of people that work closely with the intended target.

This type of harassment not only affects a person’s capacity to perform their job at work but it also affects their physical health and mental stability as well.

Targets of workplace mobbing should be aware that this emotional abuse will put their health at risk. And if not for anything else, the victim of workplace mobbing should take steps to stop this trauma for the sake of his or her physical and emotional well being.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

This behavior will lead the target into the development of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This means that the victim would have to look for therapy to help him with his depression and be put on medication if this workplace mobbing he is encountering has escalated him into this depressing condition.

Workplace mobbing can lead the victim to develop migraines, chest pain, nausea, muscle pain, chronic headache, chronic stomach problems, back pain and many other physical ailments. Being the target of a group of bullies can affect you in numerous ways.

On a psychological level, workplace mobbing can develop into depression, insomnia, suffering from anxiety or rage. Workplace mobbing also leads the victim to under perform and sometimes indulge in unreasonable and reckless behaviors such as drinking in excess or doing drugs.

Easy Mobbing Targets!

However, researchers have found that most victims of workplace mobbing are highly sensitive people which makes them an easy target. These people may generally have a low level of tolerance which can make them highly susceptible to mobbing by their fellow workers, even without any justification for it.

Anxiety is another huge problem that many targets of workplace mobbing suffer from. They will end up with having low self-esteem, they won’t trust anyone and they will have absolutely no confidence in themselves or the people that work around them.

How Can You Stop It?

A target of workplace mobbing is generally female, shy or introverted and one that does not want to cause any waves or report anything to their superiors because of the fear of retaliation.

Now that you know the damage that workplace mobbing can cause to both your mental and physical health, and if you feel you are the target of such abuse by a mob at work, you must, before it’s too late, put an abrupt halt to it no matter what waves it will cause and no matter how long it takes.

Talk to your immediate supervisor so that they are aware of the situation. You should also let your HR department know so there is a record of your reporting it.

Keep a journal of the times and things that are happening to you through these workplace mobbing incidents, like how often they occur, what is said or done and the exact time and date of these occurrences.

You need to make your companies leadership know what is going on so that it can be brought to an abrupt halt before there is any damage done to either the person being mobbed or to the companies productivity.