Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace

by Noa Davenport

Everyday capable, hardworking, committed employees suffer emotional abuse at their workplace. Some flee from jobs they love, forced out by mean-spirited co-workers, subordinates or superiors -- often with the tacit approval of higher management. The authors, Dr. Noa Davenport, Ruth Distler Schwartz, and Gail Pursell Elliott have written a book for every employee and manager in America. The book deals with what has become a household word in Mobbing. Mobbing is a "ganging up" by several individuals, to force someone out of the workplace through rumor, innuendo, intimidation, discrediting, and particularly, humiliation. Mobbing is a serious form of nonsexual, nonracial harassment. It has been legally described as status-blind harassment. Mobbing affects the mental and physical health of victims. It extracts staggering costs from victims, their families, and from organizations. With this new book, Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace , there is a name for the problem and help for the victims. The book helps readers to understand what mobbing is, why it occurs, how it affects a victim and organizations, and what people can so. The authors have interviewed victims from across the U.S. and the book contains many quotes that poignantly illustrate the gravity of the mobbing experience. An overview of the literature and research is provided as well as many practical strategies to help the victims, managers, healthcare and legal professionals. Original drawings by Sabra Vidali express the depth of the experience and enhance the authors' work.

Genres: Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

Reviews

[Michael Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

About the Authors
• Noa Zanolli Davenport is a Swiss mediator, who also works at Iowa State University
• Ruth Distler Schwartz was a management consultant for human resources departments, before she passed away from ALS in 2009
• Gail Pursell Elliott is a trainer for human resources departments

Overview: Mobbing is a workplace group behavior where the victim is emotionally abused until they decide to quit their job. It is also called workplace bullying.

Mobbing vs. Bullying: Mobbing differs from the situation of a bad boss, in that the attackers are a group, not an individual. The term bullying usually refers to students who are picked on in schools, while mobbing usually happens at the workplace.

Mobbing vs. Discrimination: Mobbing differs from workplace discrimination in that the victim is not chosen for their gender, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. The victim therefore cannot make a legal case based on anti-discrimination law.

History: Mobbing was originally identified in the 1970s by a physician named Peter-Paul Heinemann who studied Swedish children. It was studied in the workplace in the 1980s by Heinz Leymann. The phenomenon is better known in Scandinavia and Europe than in the United States. In the United Kingdom mobbing  was publicized by a reporter named Andrea Adams. In Canada, mobbing in academia has been investigated by a sociologist named Kenneth Westhues.

Who is Targeted
• Trusting people
• Politically naive people
• People who are different
• People who ask too many questions
• Whistleblowers

Motivations of Mobbers
• Envy of high-achievers
• Feeling inadequate around someone who is more competent
• Insecurity with respect to having ones authority challenged

Abusive Behaviors of Mobbing
• Curtailing the target’s job responsibilities
• Keeping the target out of the loop
• Excluding the target from decision making
• Coworkers stop talking to the target person
• No eye contact with the target person
• Physical isolation of the target person
• Refusing to give help to the target person
• Intimidation
• Portraying the target as being the person at fault
• Scapegoating
• Spreading rumors about the target person
• Insulting and humiliation the target person
• Attacking the target’s personal life
• Ridiculing a handicap of the target person
• Asking the target to undergo a psychiatric evaluation

What To Do When Mobbed
• Keep a record (date, time, place, person, act)
• Ask for directives in writing
• Focus your efforts outside the job
• Stress relieving activities
• Be careful not to take it out on your family

Consequences of Being Mobbed
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Hyper-vigilance
• Learned helplessness
• Panic attacks
• Insomnia
• Cynicism about other people
• Suicide attempts

HR Departments and Mobbing
• Management is often unaware mobbing is happening
• A sign that an employee is being mobbed: the employee’s job performance evaluations suddenly plummet
• HR departments should develop an official anti-mobbing policy

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another in a series of books on workplace abuse and related topices that I've read at least once before and am skimming through again. This may be the best of the lot, or at least the one closest to what I experienced at my former employer, St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho (from 2004 -2006) which is one of those employers where workplace psychological abuse is not only permitted but actually encouraged and participated in by management. For more information check my blog under the heading "Workplace Psychological Abuse" at www.leonardnolt.blogspot.com.

[Gail Pursell Elliott]

Hope you will enjoy my book. Gail

[Expose Austin Texas Duty To Care For Others · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a student I experienced workplace mobbing at The University of Texas at Austin. Excellent and well-researched book on personality disordered mobs in the workplace.