View source for Mobbing

{{Short description|Bullying of an individual by a group}}
{{about|mobbing in relation to human bullying behaviour|mobbing as an antipredatory animal behaviour|Mobbing (animal behavior)|political control by a mass of ordinary people|Mob rule|mobbing as a crime in Scots law|Mobbing (Scots law)|the software development technique|Mob programming}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
'''Mobbing''', as a sociological term, refers either to [[bullying]] in any context, or specifically to that within the workplace, especially when perpetrated by a group rather than an individual.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bullying vs mobbing |url=https://www.kwesthues.com/bullyingvsmobbing.htm |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=www.kwesthues.com}}</ref>

== Psychological and health effects ==
Victims of workplace mobbing frequently suffer from: [[adjustment disorders]], somatic symptoms, [[psychological trauma]] (e.g., trauma [[tremor]]s or sudden onset [[selective mutism]]), [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD), or [[major depression]].<ref name="CPV">Hillard JR [http://www.innovations-training.com/0804CP_Article4.pdf Workplace mobbing: Are they really out to get your patient?] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100509035009/http://www.innovations-training.com/0804CP_Article4.pdf |date=9 May 2010 }} Current Psychiatry Volume 8 Number 4 April 2009 Pages 45–51</ref>

In mobbing targets with PTSD, Leymann notes that the "mental effects were fully comparable with PTSD from war or prison camp experiences." Some patients may develop alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders. Family relationships routinely suffer and victims sometimes display acts of aggression towards strangers in the street. Workplace targets and witnesses may even develop brief psychotic episodes {{xref|(see [[Occupational psychosis]])}}, generally with paranoid symptoms. Leymann estimated that 15% of [[suicide]]s in Sweden could be directly attributed to workplace mobbing.<ref name="CPV" />

== Development of the concept ==
[[Konrad Lorenz]], in his book entitled ''[[On Aggression]]'' (1966), first described mobbing among birds and other animals, attributing it to instincts rooted in the [[Darwinian]] struggle to thrive (see [[animal mobbing behavior]]). In his view, most humans are subject to similar innate impulses but capable of bringing them under rational control.<ref name="Westhues">{{cite web|url=http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/mobbing.htm|title=Workplace Mobbing in Academe|website=arts.uwaterloo.ca|access-date=19 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812072428/http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/mobbing.htm|archive-date=12 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lorenz's explanation for his choice of the English word "mobbing" was omitted in the English translation by Marjorie Kerr Wilson. According to [[Kenneth Westhues]], Lorenz chose the word "mobbing" because he remembered in the collective attack by birds, the old German term ''hassen auf'', which means "to hate after" or "to put a hate on" was applied and this emphasised "the depth of antipathy with which the attack is made" rather than the English word 'mobbing' which emphasised the collective aspect of the attack.<ref> Westhues, Kenneth.(2007) [http://www.kwesthues.com/graz0701.htm Mobbing a Natural Fact], Adapted and revised from "Mobbing am akademischen Arbeitsplatz," a lecture given in the Society for Sociology at the University of Graz, Austria, on 23 January 2007, Retrieved on 17 August 2018</ref> 

In the 1970s, the Swedish physician {{Interlanguage link multi|Peter-Paul Heinemann|sv|Peter-Paul Heinemann|de||pl||vertical-align=sup}} applied Lorenz's conceptualization to the collective aggression of children against a targeted child.<ref name="Westhues" /> In the 1980s, professor and practising psychologist [[Heinz Leymann]] applied the term to ganging up in the workplace.<ref name="Westhues" /> In 2011, anthropologist Janice Harper suggested that some anti-bullying approaches effectively constitute a form of mobbing by using the label "bully" to dehumanize, encouraging people to shun and avoid people labeled bullies, and in some cases sabotage their work or refuse to work with them, while almost always calling for their exclusion and termination from employment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper/the-bully-label-has-to-go_b_1068456.html|title=The Bully Label Has to Go|first=Janice|last=Harper|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=1 November 2011}}</ref>

== Cause ==
Janice Harper followed her ''[[HuffPost|Huffington Post]]'' essay with a series of essays in both ''The Huffington Post''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janice-harper|title=Janice Harper – HuffPost|website=www.huffingtonpost.com}}</ref> and in her column "Beyond Bullying: Peacebuilding at Work, School and Home" in ''[[Psychology Today]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beyond-bullying|title=Beyond Bullying|website=Psychology Today}}</ref> that argued that mobbing is a form of group aggression innate to [[primate]]s, and that those who engage in mobbing are not necessarily "evil" or "psychopathic", but responding in a predictable and patterned manner when someone in a position of leadership or influence communicates to the group that someone must go. For that reason, she indicated that anyone can and will engage in mobbing, and that once mobbing gets underway, just as in the animal kingdom it will almost always continue and intensify as long as the target remains with the group. She subsequently published a book on the topic<ref name="amazon.com">{{cite book|title=Mobbed!: What to Do When They Really Are Out to Get You|first=Janice Harper|last=PhD|date= 2013|publisher=Backdoor Press|isbn = 978-0692693339}}</ref> in which she explored animal behavior, organizational cultures and historical forms of group aggression, suggesting that mobbing is a form of group aggression on a continuum of [[structural violence]] with [[genocide]] as the most extreme form of mob aggression.

== Online ==
{{See also|Cyberstalking#By anonymous online mobs|Cyberbullying}}
Social networking sites and blogs have enabled anonymous groups to coordinate and attack other people. The victims of these groups can be targeted by various attacks and threats, sometimes causing the victims to use pseudonyms or go offline to avoid them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Citron |first=Danielle Keats |date=February 2009 |title=Cyber Civil Rights |url=http://128.197.26.3/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/bulr/volume89n1/documents/CITRON.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Boston University Law Review |series=61 |volume=89 |pages=62 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101180456/http://128.197.26.3/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/bulr/volume89n1/documents/CITRON.pdf |archive-date=1 November 2013 |access-date=2022-07-28 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[Herd mentality]] and cyberbullying are common on social media platforms. The "social media mob" that formed may evolve to "bullying anyone who didn’t align with their beliefs or conclusions".<ref name="30sep2023">{{cite web | title=Mohbad Death And The Online Mob Mentality | website=Leadership News | date=30 Sep 2023 | url=https://leadership.ng/mohbad-death-and-the-online-mob-mentality/ | quote=Ironically, many of those supporting MohBad, alleging that he was bullied by Naira Marley and his crew, are among the most prominent bullies on social media. It is essential to emphasize that it is perfectly acceptable to hold different opinions, support different political candidates, or have contrary viewpoints. Succumbing to the pressure of online fascists who have turned social media into a battleground for those with dissenting opinions is not the solution | access-date=9 Dec 2024}}</ref>

== In the workplace ==
{{main article|Workplace bullying}}
British anti-bullying researchers [[Andrea Adams]] and [[Tim Field]] have used the expression "workplace bullying" instead of what Leymann called "mobbing" in a workplace context. They identify mobbing as a particular type of bullying that is not as apparent as most, defining it as "an emotional assault. It begins when an individual becomes the target of disrespectful and harmful behavior. Through [[innuendo]], rumors, and public discrediting, a hostile environment is created in which one individual gathers others to willingly, or unwillingly, participate in continuous malevolent actions to force a person out of the workplace."<ref name="amwork">Davenport NZ, Schwartz RD & Elliott GP [http://www.mobbing-usa.com Mobbing, Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace], 3rd ed., 2005, Civil Society Publishing. Ames, IA,</ref>

Adams and Field believe that mobbing is typically found in work environments that have poorly organised production or working methods and incapable or inattentive management and that mobbing victims are usually "exceptional individuals who demonstrated intelligence, competence, creativity, integrity, accomplishment and dedication".<ref name="amwork" />

In contrast, Janice Harper<ref name="amazon.com"/> suggests that workplace mobbing is typically found in organizations where there is limited opportunity for employees to exit, whether through tenure systems or contracts that make it difficult to terminate an employee (such as universities or unionized organizations), and/or where finding comparable work in the same community makes it difficult for the employee to voluntarily leave (such as academic positions, religious institutions, or military). In these employments, efforts to eliminate the worker will intensify to push the worker out against his or her will through shunning, sabotage, [[false accusations]] and a series of investigations and poor reviews. Another form of employment where workers are mobbed are those that require the use of uniforms or other markers of group inclusion (law enforcement, fire fighting, military), organizations where a single gender has predominated, but another gender is beginning to enter (STEM fields, fire fighting, military, nursing, teaching, and construction). Finally, she suggests that organizations where there are limited opportunities for advancement can be prone to mobbing because those who do advance are more likely to view challenges to their leadership as threats to their precarious positions. Harper further challenges the idea that workers are targeted for their exceptional competence. In some cases, she suggests, exceptional workers are mobbed because they are viewed as threatening to someone, but some workers who are mobbed are not necessarily good workers. Rather, Harper contends, some mobbing targets are outcasts or unproductive workers who cannot easily be terminated, and are thus treated inhumanely to push them out. While Harper emphasizes the cruelty and damaging consequences of mobbing, her organizational analysis focuses on the structural, rather than moral, nature of the organization. Moreover, she views the behavior itself, which she terms workplace aggression, as grounded in group psychology, rather than individual psychosis—even when the mobbing is initiated due to a leader's personal psychosis, the dynamics of group aggression will transform the leader's bullying into group mobbing—two vastly distinct psychological and social phenomena.

Shallcross, Ramsay and Barker consider workplace "mobbing" to be a generally unfamiliar term in some English speaking countries. Some researchers claim that mobbing is simply another name for bullying. Workplace mobbing can be considered as a "[[virus]]" or a "[[cancer]]" that spreads throughout the workplace via [[gossip]], [[rumour]] and [[unfounded accusations]]. It is a deliberate attempt to force a person out of their workplace by [[humiliation]], general [[harassment]], [[emotional abuse]] and/or [[terrorism|terror]]. Mobbing can be described as being "ganged up on." Mobbing is executed by a leader (who can be a manager, a co-worker, or a subordinate). The leader then rallies others into a systematic and frequent "mob-like" behaviour toward the victim.<ref>Shallcross, L, Ramsay, S, & Barker M, (2008) [http://www.lindas.internetbasedfamily.com/f/SHALLCROSS_LINDA1.pdf Workplace Mobbing: Expulsion, Exclusion, and Transformation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713045605/http://www.lindas.internetbasedfamily.com/f/SHALLCROSS_LINDA1.pdf |date=13 July 2011 }}, retrieved 17 May 2010</ref>

Mobbing as "downward bullying" by superiors is also known as "bossing", and "upward bullying" by colleagues as "staffing", in some European countries, for instance, in German-speaking regions.<ref>Oberhofer, P [http://www.business-wissen.de/artikel/bossing-und-staffing-mobbing-zwischen-chef-und-mitarbeitern/ Bossing und Staffing], retrieved 25 November 2015</ref>

== At school ==
{{See also|School bullying}}
Following on from the work of Heinemann, Elliot identifies mobbing as a common phenomenon in the form of group bullying at school. It involves "ganging up" on someone using tactics of [[rumor]], [[innuendo]], [[discrediting]], [[Social rejection|isolating]], [[intimidating]], and above all, making it look as if the targeted person is responsible ([[victim blaming]]).<ref name="Elliott">{{cite book|author=Gail Pursell Elliott|title=School Mobbing and Emotional Abuse: See It – Stop It – Prevent It (with dignity and respect)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QHm5dqvPLSwC&pg=PA14|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-203-49861-3|page=14}}</ref> It is to be distinguished from normal conflicts (between pupils of similar standing and power), which are an integral part of everyday school life.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors=((Burger, C.)) | journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | title=School bullying is not a conflict: The interplay between conflict management styles, bullying victimization and psychological school adjustment | volume=19 | issue=18 | pages=11809 | date= 2022 | issn=1661-7827 | doi=10.3390/ijerph191811809| pmid=36142079 | pmc=9517642 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

== In academia ==
{{See also|Bullying in academia}}
[[Kenneth Westhues]]' study of mobbing in [[academia]] found that [[vulnerability]] was increased by personal differences such as being a foreigner or of a different sex; by working in fields such as music or literature which have recently come under the sway of less objective and more [[post-modern]] scholarship; financial pressure; or having an aggressive superior.<ref name="west" /> Other factors included [[envy]], [[heresy]] and [[campus politics]].<ref name="west">{{citation |url=http://uv-net.uio.no/wpmu/hedda/2007/05/13/workplace-bullying-in-the-academic-world/ |title=Workplace Bullying in the Academic World? |date=13 May 2007 |publisher=Higher Education Development Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724185410/http://uv-net.uio.no/wpmu/hedda/2007/05/13/workplace-bullying-in-the-academic-world/ |archive-date=24 July 2011  }}</ref>

== Checklists ==
Sociologists and authors have created checklists and other tools to identify mobbing behaviour.<ref name="Elliott" /><ref name="Westhues2">Westhues K. [http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/checklist.htm Checklist of Mobbing Indicators] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613143656/http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/checklist.htm |date=13 June 2010 }} 2006</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Margaret R. Kohut|title=The Complete Guide to Understanding, Controlling, and Stopping Bullies & Bullying at Work: A Complete Guide for Managers, Supervisors, and Co-workers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aSREF06T2ZQC&pg=PA171|year=2008|publisher=Atlantic Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-60138-236-8|page=171}}</ref> Common approaches to assessing mobbing behavior is through quantifying frequency of mobbing behavior based on a given definition of the behavior or through quantifying what respondents believe encompasses mobbing behavior. These are referred to as "self-labeling" and "behavior experience" methods respectively.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal|last1=Steffgen|first1=Georges|last2=Sischka|first2=Philipp|last3=Schmidt|first3=Alexander|last4=Kohl|first4=Diane|last5=Happ|first5=Christian|title=The Luxembourg Workplace Mobbing Scale|journal=European Journal of Psychological Assessment|volume=35|issue=2|pages=164–171|date=2016|doi=10.1027/1015-5759/a000381|s2cid=54649984|url=https://orbilu.uni.lu/bitstream/10993/27393/1/Steffgen%20et%20al.%20%282016%29%20-%20Luxembourg%20Workplace%20Mobbing%20Scale_RG.pdf }}</ref>

Limitations of some mobbing examination tools are:
* Participant exhaustion due to examination length
* Limited sample exposure resulting in limited result generalizability
* Confounding with constructs that result in the same affect as mobbing but are not purposely harmful

Common Tools used to measure mobbing behavior are:
* Leyman Inventory of Psychological Terror<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Leymann|first1=Heinz|title=Leymann Inventory of Psychological Terror|journal=Tübingen: Deutsche Gellschaft für Verhaltenstherapie Verlag.|date=1996}}</ref> (LIPT)
* Negative Acts Questionnaire – Revised<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Einarsen|first1=Staale|last2=Hoel|first2=Helge|last3=Notelaers|first3=Guy|title=Measuring exposure to bullying and harassment at work: Validity, factor structure and psychometric properties of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised|journal=Work & Stress|date=2009|volume=23|pages=24–44|doi=10.1080/02678370902815673|s2cid=145212957}}</ref> (NAQ-R)
* Luxembourg Workplace Mobbing Scale<ref name="auto"/> (LWMS)

== Counteracting ==
From an organizational perspective, it has been suggested that mobbing behavior can be curtailed by acknowledging behaviors as mobbing behaviors and that such behaviors result in harm and/or negative consequences.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sperry|first1=Len|title=Workplace mobbing and bullying: a consulting psychology perspective and overview|journal=Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research|date=2009|volume=61|issue=3|pages=165–168|doi=10.1037/a0016936}}</ref> Precise definitions of such traits are critical due to ambiguity of unacceptable and acceptable behaviors potentially leading to unintentional mobbing behavior. Attenuation of mobbing behavior can further be enhanced by developing policies that explicitly address specific behaviors that are culturally accepted to result in harm or negative affect.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Duffy|first1=Maureen|title=Preventing workplace mobbing and bullying with effective organizational consultation, policies, and legislation|journal=Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research|date=2009|volume=61|issue=3|pages=242–262|doi=10.1037/a0016783}}</ref> This provides a framework from which mobbing victims can respond to mobbing. Lack of such a framework may result in a situation where each instance of mobbing is treated on an individual basis with no recourse of prevention. It may also indicate that such behaviors are warranted and within the realm of acceptable behavior within an organization.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ferris|first1=Patricia|title=The role of the consulting psychologist in the prevention, detection, and correction of bullying and mobbing in the workplace|journal=Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research|date=2009|volume=61|issue=3|pages=169–189|doi=10.1037/a0016783}}</ref> Direct responses to grievances related to mobbing that are handled outside of a courtroom and training programs outlining antibully-countermeasures also demonstrate a reduction in mobbing behavior.{{cn|date=April 2018}}

== Persecutory delusions ==
{{excerpt|Gang stalking}}
== See also ==

{{wiktionary}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Cyberbullying]]
* [[Group narcissism]]
* [[Industrial and organizational psychology]]
* [[Lynching|Lynch mob]]
* [[Ochlocracy]]
* [[Occupational health psychology]]
* [[Real estate mobbing]]
* [[Relational aggression]]
* [[Scapegoating]]
* [[Swatting]]
* [[Stalking]]
* [[Victim blaming]]
* [[Victimisation]]
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite web | last=Croteau | first=Jeanne | title=Social Media And The Mob Mentality: How We Can Fight It | website=Forbes | date=1 Feb 2019 | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannecroteau/2019/02/01/our-society-is-broken-lets-fix-it/ | quote=What We Can Do …  individual level … Do your research before forming an opinion and be open to additional information ... Get comfortable with standing out, even if that means standing alone ... Your courage could ... Stop ignoring bullies ... | access-date=22 Feb 2025}}
* {{cite book|author1=Maureen P. Duffy |author-link1=Maureen Duffy |author2=Len Sperry |title=Mobbing: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOATmXXxF8QC |date=2012 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-19-538001-9}}
* Davenport NZ, Schwartz RD & Elliott GP [http://www.mobbing-usa.com Mobbing, Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace], 3rd ed., 2005, Civil Society Publishing. Ames, IA,
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.acalib.2007.03.003|title=Workplace Mobbing: A Discussion for Librarians|year=2007|last1=Hecker|first1=Thomas E.|journal=The Journal of Academic Librarianship|volume=33|issue=4|pages=439–445}}
* Shallcross L., Ramsay S. & Barker M. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081122000546/http://www.workplacemobbing.com/Papers.html "Workplace Mobbing: Expulsion, Exclusion, and Transformation] (2008) (blind peer reviewed) Australia and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM)
* [[Kenneth Westhues|Westhues]]. [http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=3838&pc=9 Eliminating Professors: A Guide to the Dismissal Process]. [[Lewiston, New York]]: [[Edwin Mellen Press]].<br />Westhues K [http://www.mellenpress.com/mellenpress.cfm?bookid=6363&pc=9 The Envy of Excellence: Administrative Mobbing of High-Achieving Professors] [[Lewiston, New York]]: [[Edwin Mellen Press]].<br />Westhues K [https://web.archive.org/web/20110926231316/http://arts.uwaterloo.ca/~kwesthue/ohs-canada.htm "At the Mercy of the Mob"] OHS Canada, Canada's Occupational Health & Safety Magazine (18:8), pp.&nbsp;30–36.
* Institute for education of works councils Germany – [https://www.ifb.de/mobbing-konflikt-betriebsrat/wissen-zum-thema-mobbing-konflikt-mediation.html Information about Mobbing, Mediation and conflict resolution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019203331/https://www.ifb.de/mobbing-konflikt-betriebsrat/wissen-zum-thema-mobbing-konflikt-mediation.html |date=19 October 2017 }} (German)
* Zapf D. & Einarsen S. 2005 "Mobbing at Work: Escalated Conflicts in Organizations." [[Counterproductive work behavior|Counterproductive Work Behavior]]: Investigations of Actors and Targets. Fox, Suzy & Spector, Paul E. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. p. vii

{{aspects of workplaces}}
{{Bullying}}
{{abuse}}
{{Psychological manipulation}}
{{Conformity}}
{{Media and human factors}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Abuse]]
[[Category:Aggression]]
[[Category:Harassment and bullying]]
[[Category:Interpersonal conflict]]
[[Category:Injustice]]
[[Category:Persecution]]
[[Category:Group processes]]
[[Category:Occupational health psychology]]
[[Category:Stalking]]
[[Category:1960s neologisms]]
[[Category:Majority–minority relations]]