Customer Reviews

Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I stumbled across the term "mobbing," and then the book on amazon, late one night. I ordered the book after I read the description. "Mobbing" -- a group activity at work in which one person is singled out to be eliminated -- was a new term to me. But the idea of mobbing was not new. I was mobbed four years ago and, as do so many mobbees, finally left my job because of the excruciating mental and emotional suffering I endured. The women who mobbed me subsequently have mobbed two other people -- who both left with no job on the horizon -- and doubtlessly will continue to mob whoever holds this particular position that reports to her. This book helped me understand the behavior, how it occurs, how it builds up, and, most of all, that it happens to millions of other people every day. I realized that what happened was not my fault, and now I feel more confident as a professional than I have for the past four years since the mobbing. Please understand that I am not a fan of self-help books -- I'm a pretty no-nonsense type and think that some of these books are frivolous folderol.
But not "Mobbing." I even emailed the authors, who took the time to personally answer me.
This is a fantastic book. If you're being mobbed now, it will help you cope. If you have been mobbed, it will help you recover.
Once more, thanks to the authors for bringing this ugly facet of the working world to light.

One of the most insidious ruses used by management, when they want you out, is to allow, in fact, condone, bullying by your peers. And when you complain, they ask you "What did you do to deserve it?" It doesn't matter if you are the most productive customer service rep. with a large and satisfied client base, if they don't like you or feel threatened by you, you will get mobbed.

I had not realized, until I read this book, that there was a name for what I had experienced. With a lot of counseling, talks with trusted friends and anti-depressant medication, I held my own for several years. And what was my sin? Being the Union Rep. with integrity, protecting even some of the people who made my life miserable. What really made my blood pressure go up was when I read that most people who experience severe mobbing, leave the work force and can never return.

Fortunately I was able to leave after 19 yrs and start another career in another industry. But I lost seniority, affecting vacation benefits, sick leave benefits and placement on the lay off list. The good thing is that I don't experience the mobbing where I now work and I am in fact, respected, for my Union history (some of it had made the newspapers) and integrity.

Being able to put a name with what was happening helped me to be able to make it through the last couple of months on the old job. I also started following suggestions in the book, including using them with the Union rep. who had also not supported me. I am heartened that this harrassment is now recognized and employers can be made to pay for it. But the courts and lawyers are still not too keen on prosecuting. This book is one of the best on the subject, an easy read, but don't read it while in the doctor's waiting room, your blood pressure will go off the charts!!

Do you ever read in the paper how a large company is planning to eliminate 1,000 jobs or so over the next year through something called "attrition"? They're not going to lay people off and have to pay those pesky unemployment benefits, they're just going to reap the harmless and friendly windfall of attrition. It's like 1,000 people or so at this company are going to wake up one day and, for no particular reason, just up and decide to get new jobs or whatever! Hey, what a great deal for the company! Such a great deal!

Of course, what many of us who have undergone the attrition process learn is that a company actively encourages people to volunteer to quit their jobs. Or perhaps some managers want to encourage certain employees they don't particularly like to quit -- with the implicit collusion of upper management. And of course this encouragement usually takes the form of insults, threats, humiliations, blackmail, manipulations, treachery, harrassment, gangings-up-on, behind-the-back criticisms, "one-on-one" meetings with concerned managers, and various other forms of encouragement. You can complain, of course, but whomever at the company you want to complain to feels, well, they really have to side with Management on this one -- it must be all YOUR fault.

Even the most arrogant and self-secure can have bad feelings about such experiences months or even years after the fact. Rage, frustation, grinding teeth, revenge fantasies -- these are your only true pals (it seems).

Unfortunately, some people suffer a lot more than feelings of protracted anger. This books describes cases where workers have been rewarded with long-term depression, heart attacks, and even suicide. Management excels at making their mistakes and their policies look like YOUR fault. The most conscientious workers get it the worst, since they actually care enough about their work to take all the criticism seriously. It's a weeding-out of the best, most productive people.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who works for any company or organization. The authors spell out in satisfying detail exactly what sort of abuses go on at companies (borderline legal abuse and otherwise). They also discuss the underlying causes that motivate Mobbing: "attrition" is one I discussed above, but job competition, personal dislike, and power politics are also factors. They also discuss how to recognize when it's happening, and what you can do (although I'm afraid getting another job pretty much tops the short list of recommended actions).

I'm currently dealing with the affects of this type of cowardly behavior, and I would like to send a message to anyone who has found themselves here at this web page:

If you "feel" like this is happening to you, if you "think" this may be happening to you, if you are waking up in the middle of the night, by intrusive thoughts and worries surrounding your work situation, and wondering what is wrong with yourself, then trust your instincts. Leave the environment and seek help. Please do it for the good of yourself, your health, and your loved ones.

This has been one of the most crushing, defeating experiences of my life. I hope that I can at least help keep someone from making the same mistakes in not trusting in their own perceptions.

Don't worry about revenge via lawsuits, or fighting back, or personal pride. Be concerned about your own mental and emotional well being. Surround yourself with people who give a damn about you. Seek resources such as this book in order to understand your situation, and try your best to start dusting yourself off.

These types of environments are severely ill and fronted by phonies. They are the most ignorant, the most scared and would be the first ones to crumble under the same circumstances you have found yourself. There is no honor or valour where you are at. Let them be. Rise above it, and out of it...

Anytime you name something you begin to grasp it with more power. The authors have given us the gift of naming a pernicious process called "Mobbing." They define Mobbing as 'group bullying.' Sometimes obvious and sometimes subtly masked by the bullies power it consistently has a negative impact on everyone adjacent. Reading this book brought back numerous personal memories of the intimidating, humiliating, isolating sorts of tactics that mobbing can take in the workplace. The more I thought about it the more I realized that mobbing is much more common than I had first thought. This is a crucial read for those who have been "mobbed" in the workplace, and also vital for employers to read to create a workplace that is safe from the tragedies of mobbing. The book not only outlines the process of mobbing it goes many steps further to give people ways to respond and heal. This is an excellent ground-breaking book. Highly recommended.

Mobbing: Emotional abuse in the American Workplace is a must read for anyone who has been bullied or harassed at work and for others interested in this phenomenon. This book is a soup to nuts resource taking us from the origins and basics of mobbing to the eventual healing and prevention. It is concise and detailed leaving no stone unturned and is loaded with terminology essential to define and identify acts of mobbing and the course one goes through in it's aftermath. The examples given, anecdotes in each chapter and the highlighted lists of terminology make this book an easy read for those who need to understand why one's job can bring so much misery so unnecessarily. As a former victim and now a union shop steward and anti-bullying activist, I say run, not walk, to buy this book. You'll be glad you did and you will be armed with the information to heal, and to understand what happened to you and what you can do about it. As a shop steward I have already used the terminology and concepts found within to prepare and file a grievance on behalf of a client. This book has become a valuable handbook and reference I use daily to sort out the various types of bullying and emotional abuse found in my workplace. Bob Miller PAWA People Against Workplace Abuse

I certainly commend the authors for giving a name and a face to repugnant behavior. It may go a long way toward doing something constructive about the destructive behaviors that heretofore go on in organizations. That's the reason why I read this book. I was interested, and did find, examples of commendable companies that drew the line and declared that destructive behavior is not tolerated. However, I'm not really that much more armed to fix a company's "sick environment" as a result of this book, which is the reason why I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. For one thing, the book is predominately focused on the victim. When it does talk about personnel policies, it is a little cursory. I would love to read an in-depth book or chapter on how to document the covert sabotaging behaviors -- those that are cited these days as the ways in which females bully. An organization really can't take action without documentation lest it run the risk of brandishing its own form of bullying. The book does point out the risks of mediating, because it can escalate the offenders' onslaughts. If offending people are resistant and behaviorally comfortable in their aggressions, they are not going to accept the lessons of training. Combine resistance with entrenched bad behavior,elusive documentation and, God forbid, political power of the offender arising from marketplace influences and you have a very complex and difficult problem to tackle. Unfortunately, I think the book glosses over that.

I bought this book as a package with Gary and Ruth Namie's book on bullying and thought it had to be good from the Amazon reviews I read. Well true to those reviews this book is excellent and a must have. In my opinion Mobbing is a companion to the Namie book and a must have for anyone in the workforce. I could not put the book down once I opened the package and started reading. This book really placed a name and identification as to what was happening to me in my work place. Now I know what bullying and mobbing is all about and I also have the tools to fight back and keep my dignity. The authors present their topic in a well thought out format and really speak to the reader. The authors give examples but also point out and recognize that every situation is different and unique but note the underlying themes and patterns. I can't say enough about this book as it is a must have for anyone either in the workforce or just entering. Don't let mobbing and bullying ruin you and your career as anyone can learn the tools to identify such situations and protect their career. I wish I had this book sooner but it is never too late to fight back and use the knowledge gained from this book.

This book does a fine job of describing the bullying/mobbing phenomenon at work. At least you'll know you're not alone. My workplace is like the show 'Survivor' with alliances who will ruthlessly destroy anyone who could pose a 'threat' by being competent and doing their job well. It's nuts. Character assassination, spreading false rumors, stress manipulation, and social isolation are their favorite methods.

This fine book offers a comprehensive view of what unfortunately may be an all too common behavior in the workplace. The term "mobbing" describes an emotional assault which begins when an individual becomes the target of disrespectful and harmful behavior.

The authors show us a workplace panorama that features an environment filled with innuendo, rumors and public discrediting that ultimately results in forcing the victim out of the workplace. Almost immediately, you see some vignette that mirrors one of your own work experiences, or that of a co-worker. You may even discover that you have unknowingly participated as part of the mob.

Unlike more overt behavior, mobbing may assume a subtle or discrete persona, which may make it harder to recognize. One of the most powerful lessons from this extraordinary book is the gift of receiving language by which we may talk about this problem. The comprehensive introduction provides insights into the nature of the mobbing syndrome, offers some cases and provides research background and the terminology employed throughout the text.

The book is organized into four major parts.

In the first part we learn what mobbing is and how it occurs, and then focuses on why this behavior occurs and persists. It also introduces the point that unresolved workplace conflicts can both trigger and intensify the mobbing process. (A later chapter extensively examines conflict resolution).

The second section of the book offers strategies to individuals. There is information related to staying healthy and avoiding longer term personal injury as well as tips on how to deflect or overcome future professional repercussions. There is excellent information herein for victims and their families.

Organizational leaders and HR professionals will benefit from the third part of the book which examines impact and prevention, and offers examples of organizations that are successfully combating this debilitating and destructive syndrome.

The final part of the book further examines the challenges of conflict resolution, the many aspects of the law as it may currently be used to address mobbing and broadens the discussion to include what mobbing means to the economy and society.

Dr. Noa Davenport, Ruth Distler Schwartz and Gail Pursell Elliott have done a find job both collecting and presenting the material. The book is very readable and offers plenty of good advice and solutions both for individuals and organizations.