What is Mobbing? What are the Symptoms of Mobbing; How much do you know about the symptoms of mobbing? Many people assume that bullying is only for the school year and will end with the end of the school year. But this is not always the case. Every day, hundreds of people – regardless of their profession – are exposed to mobbing, which is a type of bullying. While this term is still relatively unknown, it is important to take action to define mobbing and address its potential effects.
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What is Mobbing?
First of all, let’s define what mobbing is. Mobbing is when people who share the same work environment bully a co-worker in hopes of making them look like other employees or make them quit the job. This word was used in the past to describe the predatory behavior of animals. However, today it describes a group that targets a colleague and humiliates and psychologically harasses them. The aspect that distinguishes it from bullying is that it affects senior and lower-level employees equally. In other words, mobbing can occur in the cleaning department of the same company as well as in the board room.
How Common Is Mobbing at Work?
What is Mobbing; According to a 2021 survey by Work Place Bullying, 48.6 million people experience first-hand bullying at work. This also means that approximately one in three employees is the target of mobbing in the workplace. The same research reveals that in the workplace, men are more likely to mobbing other men, and women are the group with the highest probability of mobbing other women.
What Causes Mobbing in the Workplace?
What is mobbing, we explained. So what are the causes of mobbing? This is just as important as the definition of what is mobbing. First of all, if you are the target, mobbing and bullying are never your fault. Nothing you do or don’t do can justify abuse or harassment.
Compliance is a possible cause of mobbing in the workplace. Maybe you are someone who walks to the beat of your own drum and some people want you to move towards what is familiar and comfortable for them. Often times, though, there are more complex factors at play, and it can be a combination of all of these that leads to group bullying. For example:
Lack of psychological security in the company
Heavy workloads
Competitive performance
Inadequate job lead times
Unclear or unclear anti-bullying policies
Group-based goals
Feeling personally threatened by a top-performing co-worker
Racism, sexism or other forms of discrimination
Another behavioral factor is jealousy. A 2021 review notes that mobbers often have low self-esteem, making them jealous of coworkers who have admirable qualities or are liked by others.
What are the Types of Mobbing?
What is Mobbing; We can examine mobbing in the workplace under three main headings as physical, verbal and social mobbing.
- Physical mobbing: Physical mobbing can mean, for example, being pushed around in the parking lot or it can mean disrespectful moving and destruction of your property. It may be in the form of harassment or may involve sexual harassment.
- Verbal mobbing: Verbal mobbing can be similar to verbal abuse in any other setting. It may contain hurtful, malicious or manipulative comments made directly to or about you. For example, workplace gossip can be considered as verbal mobbing.
- Social mobbing: Cyberbullying, isolation, ignoring, mocking or other mobbing techniques that involve changing people’s perception of you can be considered social mobbing. This type of mobbing may include excluding you from group sessions, not inviting you to a group lunch, or warning new employees to stay away from you.
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How Do You Know You Have Been Mobbing?
What is Mobbing; If you suspect you have been bullied at work, it may be helpful to learn more about the mobbing symptoms and process. We can list the stages of mobbing as follows:
1. Dispute
The first stage of mobbing is disagreement. Mobbing often leads to disagreement or some other form of criticism (investigation, scolding, warning) against the target of the bullying in the workplace. This ensures that the target is caught off-guard and gives validity to the ostensibly bully. For example, this could be the start of an employee claiming to be late for work once after arriving late.
2. Anger and aggression
In the second stage, mobbing aggression becomes more obvious. The target may respond angrily to what is done to them, as their reputation, job, and salary may be at stake. However, this is exactly what mobbers want, as responding with anger makes the employee seem “unfit for the job”. Mobbing is manipulative and its purpose is to discredit the target as much as possible.
3. Bargain
During the bargaining stage, the mobbing perpetrator begins to involve the management team. Most of the time, the management is convinced by the lies that the mobbing gang has made up. At this stage, the mobbing of the target probably made him feel “misunderstood and lonely”; however, applying to management does not always lead to positive results; It may even worsen the situation. Because managers and other co-workers seem to agree, the employee believes that he or she deserves the mistreatment at this stage.
4. Depression
People exposed to mobbing may experience symptoms of depression. For some, these symptoms occur during their time at work; some experience these symptoms only after they leave work. After leaving work, some victims begin to wonder if the bullying they’ve been subjected to is justified. Other reflections of mobbing include difficulties in concentration, sleep and appetite changes, sadness, low energy, and suicidal thoughts. * If you think you have these feelings and thoughts, consult a mental health professional without wasting time.
Mobbing in the workplace can create a difficult cycle to get out of. The person who is the target of the bullying may become less productive at work. It can be debilitating if the effects extend beyond the workplace and into one’s wider social or professional network. Apart from depression, stress disorders and psychosomatic diseases can also be seen among mobbing victims. Therefore, the signs of mobbing should not be ignored.
5. Acceptance
In the acceptance phase of mobbing, the situation tends to resolve in one way or another. Mobbing may decrease, human resources may intervene, or the employee may quit or be fired. The feeling of injustice that accompanies being the target of bullying is often difficult to overcome, so the path to acceptance can be long and arduous. However, it is usually considered faster when the person is trying to stand out from the crowd. Mobbing at work requires healing just as much as other forms of trauma. Therefore, this condition should be approached with the same degree of self-care as other mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
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How to Deal with Mobbing?
What is Mobbing; If you encounter a conflict at work, you may want to consider resolving it as quickly, calmly, and respectfully as possible. When mobbing is caught early in the process, it may be easier to stop it. So learn to recognize the signs of mobbing (especially the first two stages we described above) and respond to it in a non-aggressive, cautious way.
Being bullied can be a very stressful and painful experience. What you feel is always valid, and like everyone else, you deserve to be treated with respect and understanding. Also, nothing you do justifies mobbing. In this sense, you do not need to change to stop mobbing. However, you can get help from a number of applications to protect yourself from the effects of mobbing as much as possible.
If the signs of mobbing are familiar and you are experiencing mobbing in your workplace, consider reporting it directly to the human resources department or management team. The following tips can also help you stop mobbing:
- Do not doubt yourself: the bullying you are being bullied is not caused by you. Bullies often get stronger when they feel power over you. So don’t let this be about you. Stick to the facts and stay calm. Report events calmly.
- Gather evidence: Try to document each event you were exposed to, with the location, date, and details of the event. Try to write down any incident that makes you uncomfortable or insecure, even if you think it is insignificant compared to other behaviors. If possible, also gather evidence. These could include witnesses, footage, damaged property, data invasion, or anything else you think might help you build your case.
- Find outside support: If you feel like you don’t have support at work, it’s important to have someone outside of work. Make sure you have home support (trusted friends and family, therapist, counselor, support groups) to help you take care of yourself emotionally and physically, as the situation can hurt you if it lasts for a long time.
- Ask “Is it worth it”: Ask yourself if you really want to work in this job. Mobbing can affect your mental health and quality of life, especially if you are the target of a group. It may not be fair to you to step back even though you were right and wrong, but if the signs of mobbing are not addressed by your leaders, there is little you can do to put an end to it. So think about your safety first.
