What to do if you are being bullied at work. There are many reasons for mobbing in human society

Every working person has experienced bullying at work at least once in their life. In the West, this phenomenon is called the English word “mobbing”.

In the animal world, mobbing is when a herd of herbivores attacks a predator (from the English word mob - crowd). In the world of corporate cannibals, mobbing refers to the bullying of one employee by several colleagues, unfriendly or aggressive actions that are carried out systematically over a long period of time. Mobbing is difficult to recognize: both victims and aggressors prefer not to talk about it.

Mobbing is divided into “horizontal” (among employees of the same level) and “vertical” (among employees of different levels). Horizontal mobbing is most often used in relation to newcomers by older employees of the organization. This can happen if the newcomer is seen as a competitor or if he stands out from the general team.

Vertical mobbing often occurs if there is a desire to make room for promotion or if the boss, for one reason or another, wants to get rid of an employee, but cannot do this in a legal way, an expert in the field of personnel management at Begin told Izvestia Group Mikhail Murashov. For example, a new boss needs to find a different team or save money on human resources. According to the law, it is almost impossible to fire a subordinate without serious reasons. “It is much easier to constantly accuse an employee of incompetence, lack of discipline, set impossible tasks for him and, in the end, force him to leave of his own free will,” notes Mikhail Murashov.

Medical studies have shown that mobbing at work leads to severe physical and mental harm. A person who is being bullied spends all his energy constantly proving his professional and social worth.

What to do if you are being bullied

There are six rules that can help you understand what is happening around you and at least partially mitigate the consequences of corporate bullying.

Don't try to remember, write it down! German psychologists advise victims of corporate bullying to keep a diary. It is necessary to enter into it all the malicious attacks against you. For example: “On April 27, colleague S. “forgot” to tell me about the deadline for completing the task. He gloated when the boss yelled at me. A brute.” Recording all incidents will help determine the range of opponents, their tactics and distribution of roles. And also your mistakes and miscalculations.

Find the main one. As a rule, corporate bullying does not happen without an instigator. The initiative almost certainly comes from one person. And this is the one with whom you have an unresolved conflict. Perhaps it makes sense to talk with this person, try to eliminate the quarrel and establish contact.

Look for an ally. It can be very useful to find an ally among your attacking colleagues. After all, probably one of them treats you with hidden sympathy. You may discover common interests with someone. By getting closer to such people, you can at least partially dilute the chorus of judgmental voices.

Create your pack. Surely you are not the only one. If you look around, you will find a couple of other colleagues who have experienced the same thing.

Follow the process. The most important thing is to eliminate or minimize professional mistakes for which you may be reproached. After all, you go to work to do business. No amount of bullying can knock the rug out from under a good specialist.

Talk to the boss. Feel free to complain to your superiors. Any manager (regardless of his degree of sanity) is able to understand that mobbing harms business. Just wait for a particularly obvious provocation to draw the boss’s attention to it.

In which companies does mobbing take place?

The most fertile ground for mobbing to occur is an unhealthy environment in a team. Here is an incomplete list of hidden organizational problems that can, over time, turn your company into a serpentarium:

Unclear goals of the organization and strategies for its development;

Lack of management skills among senior management;

Lack of feedback;

Vague boundaries of responsibility and job responsibilities;

Unprescribed decision-making mechanism;

Unclear division of labor between departments or employees, the possibility of duplicate or overlapping tasks;

Poor organization of information flows in the enterprise, as a result of which some employees view the possession of information as a special kind of power;

A permissive attitude towards lovers of intrigue and behind-the-scenes games;

Staff turnover, frequent changes of top managers;

Lack of a system of personnel promotion and career growth opportunities;

The prevalence of intimate or family ties between subordinates and management;

Sharply different motivation among employees;

Improper organization of work and, as a result, large overload of individual specialists.

Mobbing, bullying, bossing... These mysterious words mean just different options for bullying an employee they don’t like at work, organized by one or several people. Do you think this is not a threat to you? You are wrong. Any of us can become a potential victim, and the number of victims of office terror runs into the millions all over the world.

Conspiracy against the victim

Alla knows firsthand what it’s like when a team rejects you and doesn’t let you into their friendly ranks. She once worked in a company where the main contingent of workers were ladies much older than her. But instead of maternal care, the girl was faced with ignorance and open hostility from her colleagues. And although she liked the work and her bosses had no complaints against her, Alla had to quit a few months after the conspiracy against her began.

This is a typical example of mobbing ( mob- crowd), or persecution by a group of people of one person. As a rule, the goal of mobbing and other types of psychological pressure is to make the victim lose his nerve and shamefully flee from the “battlefield.”

The main difference between targeted bullying and ordinary conflicts and strained relationships with someone is its consistency and duration, from several weeks to several years. There are other signs that suggest that a war has been launched against you. For example, regular criticism, often too petty or lacking any specifics; ridicule and insults; threats and outright slander. They hide important information from you or do not provide it on time; are loaded with tasks that are not particularly relevant to your competence; they are not invited to joint team events... But if you are presented with justified complaints about the truly poor quality of your work, you cannot attribute them to bullying.

A person subjected to psychological terror may also develop health problems: sleep disorders, physical exhaustion, constant migraines, and various diseases. Self-esteem falls, self-doubt appears. When dealing with health problems, pursuers will also not fail to play another trump card: “Why keep an employee who is always on sick leave?”

Five reasons for mobbing

There are several most common reasons for mobbing and its variants.

1. Banal envy and the fear that you will cross someone's path - this is why successful professionals are quite often ostracized.
2. Sometimes the trigger becomes quarrel between people which, when reaching its peak, leads to harassment in the workplace.
3. Another option - the boss and his subordinate have already had a relationship, going beyond the official: for example, friendship or love. But then they were interrupted. However, both parties have to work together, and in some cases the boss will try to get rid of the person with whom he had something in common.
4. Most often, office wars are provoked by unhealthy atmosphere in the company— constant staff turnover, a strict system of fines and control, distrust of each other. In such a team there is tension hidden for the time being, which sooner or later will require release. And then anyone can become a scapegoat.
5. A large role in determining whether there is a witch hunt tendency in an organization is leader's personality. There are bosses who love to manipulate people and pit them against each other. Collective bullying of an employee occurs with their tacit approval, or even at their suggestion, when they want to get rid of an objectionable person through the wrong hands. Sometimes managers underestimate the seriousness of the current situation, tolerate such antics of their subordinates and do not take any measures against the instigators of bullying, leaving them with a feeling of impunity. But the boss, like no one else, is responsible for the positive psychological climate in the team and the resolution of industrial conflicts.

Daria Stasevich, psychologist

Some companies have adopted “hazing” of newcomers; this is a kind of tradition of joining the team. When you go through this stage, everything will most likely work out. You can look at the reasons for putting pressure on yourself from the other side. Perhaps similar situations have already occurred in your life. Then you need to figure out what in your behavior can provoke others to such an attitude. For example, you are used to playing the role of a victim and do not know how to stand up for yourself. Or you are too different from your colleagues - in behavior, appearance - and they do not understand or accept you. Among other reasons - you, out of ignorance or deliberately, ignore the established “rules of the game” and do not share the values ​​of the group; you came to the company through connections; They want to put “their” person in your place.

Bullying: one on one

When the boss of Maya, who worked as an assistant judge, was hospitalized for a whole year due to a serious illness, his employees were temporarily transferred to another site. There the woman had to deal with the inappropriate behavior of one of her colleagues. “She worked as an assistant to my new boss and for some reason immediately took a dislike to me, she did dirty tricks with terrible force. Either she would spread rumors behind my back that I supposedly got the job through bed. she gave it to me,” Maya shares.

This is another version of psychological terror - bullying (bully), or the persecution by one person of another, usually of equal status. It is believed that a characteristic feature of bullers is a constant thirst for “fresh blood”. Often after the victim, unable to withstand the bullying, quits, the attacker takes over for the next “lamb.”

How to improve relationships?

If you feel that a purposeful large-scale action is being carried out against you, you can choose several fighting strategies. The main thing is to realize what you are willing to fight for.

Try to rebuff the aggressors decisively. Another option is to ignore the attacks with the expectation that sooner or later they will leave you alone. A technique such as “external agreement” also helps: “Perhaps you are right, I’ll think about it.” Sometimes this has the effect of surprise: you were expected to have an outburst of anger or lame excuses, and now you have a chance to take control of the situation.

Ask your boss for help. By and large, mobbing or bullying can be stopped if the appropriate measures are taken. Otherwise, further struggle for your rights may turn into a battle with windmills.

You can also take certain steps to prevent possible negative attitudes towards yourself. When hiring, find out what the company's corporate culture and values ​​are, whether mutual assistance, respect for each other, etc. are accepted. Sources of such information are interviews with the HR manager and the future manager. If you are hired by a company whose products you have used, pay attention to how the stores of this organization treat customers. After all, this is often a reflection of the style of relationships within the company. During the probationary period you can also learn a lot of interesting things. For example, about whether there is pressure on any of the employees. If such a phenomenon exists, draw appropriate conclusions.

Karina Khutaeva, director of the international educational center

If you experience bullying at work, stay calm and don't stoop to the level of the bullies. Don't yell or intimidate back. Often, “attackers” deliberately provoke you, expecting retaliatory aggression, since this will give them a chance to respond to you with even stronger provocation. It is not recommended to cry or show your weakness; this is expected of you first of all. Continue to do quality work, because “well-wishers” hope to see you broken, and when you achieve success over and over again, they perceive it as failure. Be sure to show the results of your work to your superiors to protect yourself from malicious slander about your unprofessionalism. And do not allow yourself to be isolated from your loyal colleagues; maintain business and friendly ties with them.

Natalya Verigina, business coach

People with low self-esteem often become victims of bullying or mobbing, so it is important to work on increasing it. This will help by contacting a psychologist, participating and winning professional skills competitions. Those who keep themselves apart from the group are often persecuted. Learn to build relationships with people - this will make it easier to establish contact with colleagues and form an “army of allies.” They can be employees not only from their own, but also from related departments, and even more important - the immediate supervisor. Learn to defend your position, taking into account the interests of all parties and the “rituals” accepted in the company, so that controversial situations do not develop into a violent conflict. Do not create enemies for yourself with your own hands.

Bossing: boss - against

The confrontation between Nina and her boss has been going on for a long time, and no one will remember the root cause. The manager creates an unbearable work environment for his employee. He sets unrealistic deadlines for her to complete tasks, demands strict adherence to labor discipline, and the rest are given significant concessions. Nina is under constant stress, and the only thing stopping her from quitting is the even greater fear of being unemployed.

In this case we are talking about bossing ( boss- chief, boss), bullying by a leader of his subordinate. In fact, this is the same bullying, but not horizontal, but vertical. It is usually used when the boss does not have enough compelling arguments to legally fire a person.

As a rule, the victim has little hope of getting help from his colleagues, because they are not at all eager to fall under the punishing sword. Sometimes the boss’s attitude towards someone is perceived by his subordinates as a clear indication of action; in such a situation, the person is under the crossfire of bullying from literally all sides.

They may put pressure on you, forcing you to urgently write a letter of resignation of your own free will. Do not make any decisions in a hurry; you have every right to take a break to think. If you agree to quit your job, try to negotiate a dismissal by agreement of the parties. This assumes that both sides are willing to make concessions to each other. You leave, and the employer, if you can reach an agreement with him, pays severance pay in a certain amount. After all, dismissal on one’s own initiative only involves compensation for unused vacation.

Experts recommend, in any case, to quit a company where people are allowed to terrorize people with impunity, and the sooner the better. Otherwise, the consequences for your health and psychological state may become irreversible.

Daria Stasevich, psychologist

If your boss decides to fire you, you will have a very difficult time. But your departure is not the only scenario, although it is very likely. You can try to transfer to another department of the same company or to another branch or even region, if possible. You can turn to your superiors or the court for help. There are also city and district labor inspectorates. It is important to provide documentary evidence of violation of your rights - voice recordings of conversations with superiors, various correspondence, an employment contract, etc. will do.

My colleague and I met with a psychologist friend and began vying with each other to complain about our boss.

We have a legal lunch - an hour, but they barely let us out. 5 minutes of being late is explanatory, but the fact that people are working overtime seems to go unnoticed. In order to leave work on schedule at six, you also need to get permission from your boss, we complained. - Planning meetings no longer last an hour, but two or three, and everyone must remain silent or assent. Well, how can you work normally here?

After waiting until our stream of outpourings finally ended, a psychologist friend concluded:

All this means is that you are regularly exposed to violence at work. And your boss is a real rapist.

We were dumbfounded by this diagnosis. Of course, our boss’s management methods have long caused us distaste, but to present him as a serial maniac, and us as his victims, was still somehow disgusting.

However, as it turned out, psychological violence in the office is quite common. A few decades ago, European psychologists became interested in the reasons for the population’s dislike of work, and as it turned out, psychological terror in offices here occupied one of the first positions. It is the main cause of stress at work and is especially common among white-collar workers.

This unpleasant phenomenon has already received a separate name - mobbing (from the English mob - crowd). Mobbing is always a group process, when pressure is exerted on a person by almost the entire team. So the film and book “Scarecrow” are the story of classic mobbing.

But ours, apparently, is engaged in a special type of it - “bullying”: this is when terror is carried out by one person. As a rule, he is endowed with power and other resources that can poison the life of his victim: connections, experience, level of awareness, etc. Therefore, bullying is no less unpleasant a phenomenon than mobbing.

Signs of psychological terror at work.

Constant criticism and ignoring achievements. No matter what a person does, there will always be flaws in his work. Even if he made a real breakthrough, they will simply try not to notice. They don’t give him certificates, they don’t express gratitude, they don’t give him bonuses.

Insulation. A person who has become a victim of mobbing has no friends or even acquaintances at work. No one has lunch with him, he is not invited to team tea parties and birthdays, and at corporate events he usually sits alone.

Interference at work. They are trying to create unbearable working conditions for people. As if by chance, he may not be informed about an important meeting or negotiation, he is not given a say in collective discussions, he, like Cinderella, is loaded with a huge amount of work, and then found fault with the quality of its execution. Prohibited methods are often used: the victim employee’s documents may be destroyed, letters may be deleted from his email, or he may openly frame him in front of his superiors.

Moral violence. The target of mobbing may be deliberately insulted, compromising rumors may be spread about him, and he may not even be greeted.

Reasons for mobbing.

Envy and competition. This may be of little comfort to the victims of psychological terror, but most often they are persecuted because they are seen as serious professionals. It is no coincidence that one of the most popular types of mobbing is bullying a newcomer, especially if he is full of ideas and enthusiasm. Well, how will one of the old-timers move up?

However, envy can be not only professional, but also personal - for example, in women’s groups, a young beauty or a prosperous mother of a family can become a victim of mobbing if the rest of her colleagues’ personal lives are not going well.

Office fun. Mobbing is often an extreme attempt to brighten up dull office everyday life. It is no coincidence that it is office “hamsters” who are addicted to it - in real production there are more important things to do, and the office routine and especially office slavery force us to look for an outlet for energy. In addition, man is a herd animal, where one goes, that’s it.

Search for a scapegoat. It happens that things don’t go well for a company, and sooner or later the search for those to blame begins, but no one wants to be in this position. Therefore, they quickly choose someone who cannot fight back and hang all the sins on him.

Management errors. Due to illiterate management, it happens that the company duplicates the responsibilities of employees, or one service suddenly begins to control another - a conflict of interest here is inevitable. In the current economic conditions, the system for replacing employees in case of illness or vacation is often not thought out - in the end, everything falls on one person, and he cannot cope with it.

Something personal. In offices where there are few people and close, almost family relationships develop between people, corresponding costs immediately appear. As they say, every family has its black sheep, and someone needs to be appointed to this “position”. In addition, it is easier to break away from loved ones - he will forgive and understand.

Causes of bullying.

Unlike mobbing, bullying has, by and large, one reason - psychological problems. Either from the one who organizes this terror, or from its victim.

In the first case, a person (like, for example, our boss) has long-standing psychological traumas - childhood humiliation, rejection in his environment, dislike from loved ones, an inferiority complex. And he simply has no other way of compensation and self-affirmation than to directly or indirectly humiliate others.

In the second case, the person has a clear “victim complex.” He himself is prone to being bullied: he reacts excessively emotionally to his colleagues’ jokes, cannot fight back, is not confident in himself and unconsciously (and sometimes consciously) thinks that this is exactly the kind of attitude he deserves.

Consequences of psychological terror.

An unhealthy atmosphere harms the development of a company: instead of working, people are busy sorting out relationships. Therefore, reputable organizations do everything to avoid such situations and create a warm, friendly environment.

But, of course, the full brunt of the consequences of mobbing is felt first by the one who has been bullied. Constant stress at work leads to moral and physical exhaustion. Nervous disorders and somatic illnesses often occur, as a person unconsciously looks for an excuse not to go to work. Frequent colds, pressure surges, insomnia, and stomach problems can be a consequence of mobbing. There are also more serious consequences: hypertensive crises, heart attacks and strokes.

A person subjected to bullying can no longer work normally. He spends all his energy trying to prove to the team or management that he is worth something, and the attitude towards him is absolutely unjustified. However, since the true reason for mobbing is not his professional failure, but often even the opposite, these efforts are wasted. Psychological terror does not stop, and human life becomes unbearable.

How to deal with psychological terror at work?

Ignore. The most effective way. Excessive emotionality, worries, and attempts at resistance only provoke the organizers of bullying. But the lack of reaction cools the ardor. Continue to do your work calmly (as much as possible), communicate evenly with your enemy colleagues and demonstrate equanimity. Without feeling the impact, the office herd will most likely leave you behind.

Contact your superiors. If management is not involved in office bullying, then it has an interest in maintaining a healthy atmosphere. Don’t be afraid to contact your superiors directly, demonstrate your professionalism and responsibility - and the support of the powers that be will be on your side.

Quit. By the way, psychological terrorists often do not even consider this option seriously. Their main goal is not to get the victim fired, but to show their complete superiority. So that the target of bullying does not even think of considering himself a valuable employee, a seasoned professional and a creative person. He must realize his insignificance and in this humiliated state continue to work intensively, preferably for everyone at once. Well, is it worth holding on to such a place?

In general, after analyzing the situation, my friend and I realized that the third option was closest to us.

According to various estimates, about 10-15% of the team is subject to mobbing; this figure is comparable to the average rotation in the team for the year. The reasons for mobbing should be sought in a person’s social role, emotional, personal and volitional spheres.

Mobbing is collective attacks, bullying or, conversely, rejection, isolation and boycott of one of the team members. It can manifest itself in work groups at work, in study groups or classes at school, in the army it manifests itself as hazing. It is expressed in various forms of psychological violence against him (sometimes in combination with physical).

MOBBING: WHAT is it and what can you do about it?

Mobbing has always existed, but it came to the attention of psychological researchers in the 1980s. “Mobbing” from the English “mob” - crowd. H. Leiman defined mobbing as a regularly recurring unethical and openly hostile attitude of several people (crowd) or one person towards another individual in a work collective.

They try to bully an employee who has become a victim of mobbing so that he breaks down psychologically and eventually quits.

The degree of aggression of the collective and moral restrictions can be different and the forms of mobing, respectively, too.

Mobbing is a dangerous phenomenon not only for the psychological, but also for the mental and physical health of a person.

After all, being in an aggressive environment, where everything around “breathes” hatred, is in itself harmful to health.

Consequences of mobbing

Mobbing also costs organizations a pretty penny. As a rule, employees engage in bullying instead of working, and the performance of those who are bullied also decreases every day.

The economies of countries and organizations where mobbing is not prohibited objectively suffer losses!

But in the collective itself, the individual suffers and the one who is bullied and persecuted also degrades morally.

Reasons and types of mobbing

Mobbing can be spontaneous or controlled.

Everything depends on the leader and the microclimate in the team entrusted to him.

• Competent and wise leader quickly stops such phenomena already at their beginning.
• Arrogant and cruel leader will encourage them and use them to his advantage, without even thinking about the negative consequences of mobbing for the team, its productivity and himself.

Most often, newcomers try to humiliate, suppress and “survive” from the established work collective, but it happens that a person who has been in this team for a long time, an experienced specialist and even a leader, finds himself out of favor.

It happens that the immediate manager becomes embittered against one of the team members.

There are two types of mobbing in work collectives:

• vertical – aggression and pressure comes from the boss (bossing) or from a close associate/deputy,

• horizontal – when territories are organized by those equal in position.

Sometimes these 2 types of mobbing are present simultaneously. Or the leader started bullying, and the “pack” picked it up. Or the “pack” started, and the leader supported or followed the lead, so as not to become an object of bullying himself.

Any person in a team can be subject to mobbing.

Neither past merits nor the level achieved in one’s career or expertise are protected from mobbing.

More often than not, “white crows” fall under mobbing. That is, those who differ from others for the worse or for the better.

There are many reasons for mobbing in human society:

• Envy (talent, intelligence, beauty, youth, special skills, knowledge, expertise);

• Fear of appearing pale and unpromising compared to an experienced and skilled colleague;

• The desire to humiliate and thereby assert oneself (this usually affects people who were once humiliated in a similar way);

• The desire to subjugate, to show one’s power;

• High level of competition in the team;

• Low professionalism;

• Lack of full-time employment of employees during working hours;

• Low professionalism;

• Low moral level in the team.

What in the personality of the “victim” provokes mobbing?

The reason for mobbing can be both positive and negative personality traits of the “victim”, any shortcoming or advantage. If the vast majority of the team does not have this.

But these are qualities that manifest themselves through specific human actions. And mobbing is provoked not even by the qualities themselves, but by these actions.

A trigger for mobbing is any shortcoming or advantage that can become a target for aggressors, for example:

• Boasting, an attempt to put oneself above others;

• Manifestation of self-doubt, weakness;

• Complaints and gossip;

• An attempt to become “the best”, “a role model”;

• Receiving an award, bonus, some kind of special assessment or gratitude for work, which is not and is not expected from others;

• Manifestation of laziness when everyone is working and vice versa, honest work when everyone is shirking;

• Demonstration of punctuality when everyone “lives” in a free schedule, and vice versa;

• Ignoring corporate events.

Any actions that do not coincide with the behavior accepted in the team and the established culture.

Even a new manager can immediately become an object of mobbing if he suddenly begins to sharply change the established structure of the team entrusted to him.

But more often than not, it’s the newcomers and the weak who become the “victims.”

Mobbing is sometimes deliberately used by management when it is necessary to reduce the number of employees. In this case, those who are bullied are those who have no reason to be fired, but need to be fired.

And sometimes in order to pay less during the probationary period, and then simply report that “the employee was not suitable.”

What to do with mobbing?

Mobbing is the responsibility of management, but the nerves that suffer the most are those who come under mobbing.

If this happened to you, you should think about it: “Why was I targeted? Do I need to change my behavior or do I just need to change the team?”

This will require a sound assessment of the situation, a critical assessment of yourself and your actions, an understanding of the consequences they cause, and the situation itself in the team.

Based on the analysis results, choose from the available methods of protection against mobbing:

1. Change yourself for the better if the reason for mobbing is your objective shortcomings.

2. Do not respond to aggression with aggression. When those who bully you don't see your painful reaction or attempt to defend yourself, they lose their taste for it.

Maintain restraint and goodwill towards everyone. Even when they are cruel to you.

Who knows how you used to behave? Maybe someone was also suppressed.

Stay calm, show restraint, take a stress management course or seek personal advice from a psychologist.

Learn to take the “punch”. This is a school. And that's the lesson. When you learn, they will stop attacking you.

3. Identify and discredit the instigator of your bullying.

It is useless to fight the “mongrels”. But without a “leader” they scatter on their own.

You can “knock out” the leader with very gentle actions. For example, give him a sincere compliment, his professionalism and merits, even past ones. And ask him for help.

If you managed to “step on the throat of your own song,” that is, pride, then the rest will work out by itself.

The strong and the winners leave their “capitulated” opponents alive. “Live” further in this team. There will be no more bullying.

4. You can inform your superiors about mobbing and its consequences, but just don’t complain about anyone.

Complaining will have the opposite effect. “Weaklings” and “informers” are not liked anywhere.

5. Seek support from other employees.

Communicate with those who have taken a neutral position.

6. In case of violation of the law, contact the police and services responsible for regulating such relations and observing the law.

7. In case of serious material, moral or health damage, file a lawsuit.

8. Quit.

Perhaps this seems like an admission of defeat... But think about it, is it really so important to “win” in this fight? And what is more important? “Victory” or health?

Anyone whose health is suffering due to mobbing or even just an unhealthy atmosphere in the team should think about changing jobs and teams.

Mobbing and a healthy team led by a wise leader are concepts from different worlds.

Only you choose the world in which you live.

About mobbing and bossing with business coach Elena Suvorova

-What is mobbing?

From the English word "mob" - crowd. For the Russian mentality, the concept is not new, we have encountered it before, and in the sense accepted for us it means “harassment of one of the members of the team.”

- In what situations does it occur?

Most often, these are situations related to the appearance of a new employee in the team. First of all, it becomes the subject of general attention and, of course, the subject of assessment, study, research and all sorts of concerns of the established team about what they now want from it.

Since the team is established, there are some rules, norms of behavior, and a new employee cannot always fit into them.

As they say, employees are hired based on professionalism, but fired because of their behavior and poor relationships with the team.

-Let's tell you in more detail about the reasons: could it be envy or other differences from the team?

Mobbing is a specific form of social aggression that manifests itself in aggressive actions of varying scales directed against a specific employee.

And the reason for mobbing can be anything: envy of colleagues for success, both professional and personal; these may be differences between a person in a different style of clothing, a different style of communication in society. All this may seem unacceptable and dangerous for the team.

Mobbing often occurs in teams where management encourages “informing” and denunciations, because values ​​are not high and people “have fun” as best they can, as they see their capabilities.

Often, numerous groups also become poorly managed; the people in them are very different, and they fill their free time with such “entertainment” with each other.

- An interesting thought: can an unmarried woman become the subject of mobbing?

You can cause complaints, fears and aggression on the part of the team with completely harmless things. After all, people can differ in many different ways: social status, marital status.

For example, a single girl, finding herself in a group of all married ladies, may cause fears on their part that now her life program is to get married, as they think, and they will be alarmed that she is different.

And if there are not enough unmarried men in the team, each will worry primarily about her husband.

- What behavioral strategy is best for a person to develop if he joins a new team: where is it better to be careful, how not to become a victim of mobbing, how to behave, etc.?

If a person is used to living in comfortable conditions, you need to understand that in business comfortable conditions are the exception rather than the rule.

And we need to train ourselves, willy-nilly, and be prepared for the fact that when colleagues sometimes create difficult situations for us, “testing us to the core” - this is normal.

These are costs from school life: boys measure their strength, girls measure their outfits, grades.

And the same thing happens in adult teams at work.

Those who have experienced these moments at school or even at home are more “thick-skinned” and can easily cope with such situations at work.

1. Back down and become softer, more correct and more suitable to the corporate values ​​of the company in which you find yourself.

2. If you understand that their values ​​do not coincide with yours at all, you do not want to, and do not need to, adapt to them. Your right to choose - to remain yourself, the “black sheep”, remain in this team or go beyond its borders.

And I met people who made different choices at different times.

Also, many leaders are born from such social troubles. Because, going through such tests, including mobbing, they better understand themselves and their true values ​​in comparison with other people, and they understand how much they need to adapt to the crowd or, on the contrary, remain themselves and one day lead the crowd behind them.

What is the right strategy for yourself? It all depends on how these situations affect you.

If they suppress you, take away your energy, take away your will, strength, and, God forbid, your health, it is certainly better for you to work through these situations with a psychotherapist, understand what actions or inactions of yours caused them and try to correct them and gently change them .

If this means changing jobs, change. But don’t start with this right away, because we know, according to the law of repetition, if we have not worked out this situation now, there is a high probability that it will repeat itself in our lives until we solve it.

In a situation where your opinion or position does not coincide with the opinion of the crowd, it is not always worth following the lead of the crowd.

You have the right to defend your position and point of view. The main thing is to do it correctly. In a mild form that does not cause irritation.

The “White Crow” shouldn’t paint itself black either. This is unlikely to help.

Just like the “ugly duckling,” you just need to grow up and gain strength, not paying attention to mobbing. After all, the future of a beautiful swan awaits him ahead.

Be yourself. But be patient and respectful of other team members. Don't demand special respect for yourself. And show respect to others.

Important advice for those who suffer from mobbing, for those who are suppressed by it - try to build relationships with those who are neutral and do not support bullying in the team.

If your boss is bullying you- this is the so-called bossing aimed at you, here too two options are possible:

1. Either you understand that work is more important and adapt to this relationship.

2. Either you say goodbye to this boss and this job and, perhaps, become the boss yourself. published .

Elena Suvorova

If you have any questions, please ask

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consciousness, we are changing the world together! © econet

What's in the article:

The situation when the entire team takes up arms against one person is familiar to many. What to do if because of this you have to live in constant stress? Today on the website Koshechka.ru you will learn what mobbing at work is and how to counter this phenomenon.

Mobbing: an excursion into history

The concept of “mobbing” appeared in our everyday life relatively recently. Although humanity has been familiar with this phenomenon since ancient times, psychologists began to explore this area of ​​human relations in the 80s of the last century.

This word was introduced into our speech by the Swedish psychologist H. Leiman. It comes from the English word “mob”, which means “crowd”. It was Leiman who gave this concept a clear definition. Mobbing is an open and hostile attitude of the majority of people in the work collective towards an individual, which manifests itself with enviable regularity.

The victim of mobbing is abused in every possible way, leading to dismissal from work. Psychological research has proven that about 20% of people suffer from harassment at work. About 10% of suicides occur due to mobbing. As you can see, this phenomenon in the work team poses a danger not only to psychological, but also to physical health.

Reasons for mobbing

The most common reasons that lead to one of the team members becoming an outcast include:

• Unfavorable psychological climate at work.

It happens that due to improperly organized work, a dictatorial boss, or the flourishing status of gossips and informers in the team, discontent grows. Sooner or later, this time bomb will explode and the discontent of employees will be directed at the one who is the weakest in the team. The person who, at the moment of an emotional outburst, accidentally provokes his employees into aggression may also suffer.

• The appearance of a newcomer at work who is not like everyone else.

I very often consider “White Crows” to be outsiders; they are not accepted into the team. People are wary of innovations and rejection of what is unacceptable to them occurs on an unconscious level. In this situation, mobbing is only possible at work where there are well-established traditions in communication. In young teams, mobbing practically does not happen.

• Envy

Your success in financial well-being, career advancement, and even in your personal life can become a reason for mobbing from your colleagues at work.

• Self-affirmation at the expense of others

Self-affirmation at the expense of those who are weaker is inherent not only in children's, but also in adult groups.

• Boss' dislike

Mobbing from colleagues at work is possible due to the fact that the team simply tunes in to the wave of their boss and, to please him, begins to bully the employee they don’t like.

However, psychologists believe that the most important reason for this phenomenon is the personality of the victim. Both your shortcomings and your strengths can lead to bullying at work; you just need to ensure that the aggressors do not have these qualities.

You can provoke mobbing if:

• To gossip;
• Show weakness and uncertainty;
• wonder;
• Boast;
• Be indignant and complain about work;
• To be the boss's favorite employee;
• Ignore banquets and corporate parties, standing out from the crowd;
• Arrive at work on time if the team is accustomed to being a little late, or vice versa;
• Receive a prize or award.

Management can also use mobbing to reduce the number of employees. This technique is often used when it is necessary to fire someone in order to save money, but there are no objective reasons for dismissal.

The two most common types of mobbing at work

Mobbing has many varieties, but two of them are most common. You must know them in order to promptly recognize and take steps to eliminate this phenomenon in your life.

1. Vertical and horizontal. Vertical is aimed at the boss or vice versa: when the boss is trying to survive the subordinate. Horizontal is when a group of people bully one of their colleagues.
2. Hidden or latent. In this case, the victim experiences a lack of communication in the team, they ignore her, contacting her only about work issues.

The purpose of these actions is aimed at only one thing - to force a person to leave his job.

How to resist mobbing

It is not only possible, but necessary to combat mobbing at work! Otherwise, the victim of attacks from colleagues faces: depression and stress, low self-esteem, decreased performance and loss of concentration, aggression without motive and, against the backdrop of all this, exacerbation of chronic diseases.

If you feel that you have become a victim of mobbing, the first thing you should do is calm down and analyze the current situation. Analyze everything and find out why this situation arose. You can leave your job, but if you do not find out the reasons for the persecution, then it is quite natural that in a new workplace you will again become a victim.

To analyze the situation, identify the main instigator of the conflict and the people who can support you, psychologists advise keeping a notebook in which you will have to write down everything that concerns your relationships with colleagues. Over time, these notes will help you figure out the true cause of bullying at work.

How to deal with mobbing at work if everyone is just waiting for you to break down and leave your workplace? Do not give up! Prove to everyone that you are an indispensable employee! Learn to react calmly to barbs; ignore them and continue to do your job calmly and confidently. Under no circumstances respond to insults, do not stoop to the level of people who offend you.

When being bullied, take your work responsibilities more responsibly. Any puncture you make can later be used against you. Eliminate lateness, poorly performed work, and delays in completing tasks. This approach to work will not allow aggressors to unsettle you.

If bullying at work is just beginning, try to fight back firmly. The aggressors will understand that this trick will not work with you and will retreat.

Remember, the initiator of pressure will immediately sense your weakness if you show panic and fear. This will only lead to new attacks. Don't give anyone this pleasure!

Still, it is impossible to let the situation take its course. Ignoring ridicule, do not remain silent when they “wipe their feet on you.” Excessive patience and weakness will not make aggressors compassionate. Hysteria won't help either. It is best to make it clear as politely as possible, but with dignity, that you do not intend to tolerate any more attacks.

You can fight attacks by building a constructive dialogue with the aggressors. Try to have a heart-to-heart talk with the main instigator of the conflict, very often this technique improves the situation, because dialogue is better than argument.

Avoid professional mistakes. By carefully analyzing what is happening, you will be able to notice the “planted pig” in time and correct the situation.

What to do if the situation gets out of control? advises: in this case, it is advisable to have a video camera or voice recorder in order to be able to argue illegal actions against you in court.

Mobbing at work is psychological vampirism, how to resist it? It is common knowledge that psychological vampires crave feedback. They need your aggression, hysteria and irritation. If this does not happen, the “vampire” will quickly lose interest in such a victim. Ignore other people’s rejection of you, sooner or later the aggressors will calm down, losing interest in you. In this situation, the main thing is not to break down and persevere!

Quitting your job is a complete surrender! But, if you can no longer tolerate the current situation, if you are gradually turning into a nervous woman with dark circles under your eyes, think: is it worth enduring all this at all? Perhaps it will be easier to quit in order to reconsider your attitude to the situation, heal your nerves and, having learned this lesson, find a new job to start a new life in a friendly team.