What is the main message of Overcoming Mobbing?

The main message of Overcoming Mobbing is to provide strategies and support for dealing with workplace mobbing.

Who is the author of Overcoming Mobbing?

The authors of Overcoming Mobbing are Maureen Duffy and Len Sperry.

Psychology

Overcoming Mobbing Book Summary - Overcoming Mobbing Book explained in key points

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Overcoming Mobbing summary

Name: Overcoming Mobbing
Rating: 4.3 (27 reviews)
Author: Maureen Duffy & Len Sperry

Maureen Duffy Len Sperry

A Recovery Guide for Workplace Aggression and Bullying

4.3 (27 ratings)

14 mins

Brief summary

Overcoming Mobbing by Maureen Duffy and Len Sperry is a guide for dealing with workplace bullying. It provides practical advice and strategies for standing up to bullies, finding support, and creating a healthier work environment.

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Mental Health

Table of Contents

Overcoming Mobbing
Summary of 6 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 6

What’s in it for me? Learn about a dangerous form of workplace abuse and how you can prevent it.

Have you ever had the misfortune of working with an office bully? If you have, you’ll know how awful they can make people feel. A bully in the office can make going to work a miserable experience.

Although office bullies can make life hell, they can be defeated. A well-run organization will have support channels that victims can turn to, procedures for removing both the bully and their poisonous activities from the workplace.

Even though bullies can easily be confronted, there is a more damaging form of workplace abuse that often goes unchecked. And if it’s allowed to continue, workplace mobbing can destroy careers, and even lives. So what is it and what can you do about it? These blinks will tell you.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

why workplace mobbing can force people out of the careers they love; and
why you need to become a speak no evil company.

Mobbing is a form of organizational abuse, designed to remove victims from the workplace.

Despite its implications, “mobbing” is a term seldom heard in corporate culture. It’s not a day-to-day term. It’s usually not mentioned in workplace training. And yet, a recent survey found that 35 percent of American workers have experienced workplace abuse at some point during their working lives.

But how exactly is mobbing different from bullying?

Well, both involve the abuse of an individual. However, whereas bullying involves the targeted abuse of one individual by another (usually the boss), mobbing is an often-covert form of abuse (usually perpetrated by a group) that the organization itself supports. The express purpose of the abuse is the removal of the victim from the workplace.

Bullying works differently. Say you have an awful boss who constantly criticizes your work, hounding and undermining you until you begin to hate your job. In this case, you could go to HR, and disciplinary actions would be taken against your boss.

Now contrast this with mobbing. Imagine that you speak out against a company policy, thereby unwittingly infuriating your boss. Unbeknownst to you, he goes to the department head and brands you a “trouble maker.”

Together, they work to undermine you, and even recruit a coworker who dislikes you. They spread malicious gossip about you and tell people that your work is garbage. Gradually you become a total outsider; your days become intolerable. Because the head of the department is against you too, you have nowhere to turn, and so you leave the company.

Although there isn’t a typical profile for victims of mobbing, it’s likely to be someone who speaks out or seems different.

Whistleblowers, for instance, who draw attention to unethical or inefficient business practices are likely to be the ones who suffer from mobbing. People who are culturally different from the rest of the team, or who seem like outsiders, are also often singled out. This includes people like recent immigrants or people with non-normative sexual identities.

There are three factors which can both lead to mobbing and influence the victim’s response to it.

In 1991, a recently fired postal worker named Thomas McInvale walked into Royal Oak Post Office and shot dead four of his former managers before killing himself. But what could have motivated him to do that? Mobbing.

By looking into this tragic case, we uncover three factors common to all incidents of mobbing. They also illuminate why McInvale snapped.

Mobbing has a devastating impact on the victim’s health and career.

Being bullied is bad enough, as the feeling of isolation makes us unhappy and distraught. However, the effects of mobbing extend far beyond our feelings. Being constantly undermined by coworkers can be career-halting, and can leave victims with a gaping hole in their lives.

Many people’s lives are centered around their careers, so much so that it can be the focal point of their entire personal identity. Having their career taken from them, therefore, can inflict very serious injuries.

Mobbing not only affects the victims, but also their families, coworkers and the companies they work for.

While mobbing centers around the abuse of a single person, that doesn’t mean that this one person is the only sufferer. In fact, mobbing affects the people around the target, and at great cost to the company where mobbing is taking place.

For starters, mobbing affects the personal and work relationships that surround the victims of mobbing.

Recovery is possible if you make it your primary goal.

If you are a victim of workplace mobbing, you don’t have to feel that your situation is hopeless. While recovery can be slow, it’s not impossible. On your road to recovery, there are a few things that you ought to keep in mind.

First, remember that grief is a necessary response to loss. Mobbing can take away all the things you once held dear. Be sure to take the time to grieve what you’ve lost, and don’t force yourself to snap out of it straightaway.

Putting people before profits can lead to a healthy, mobbing-resistant workplace.

Everyone wants to work in a healthy environment, and companies play an important role in making the workplace healthier and more resistant to mobbing. It’s therefore crucial that your company understands and acknowledges workplace mobbing, as well as the measures one takes to address and prevent it from happening.

Traditionally, organizations were evaluated primarily in terms of their profitability and productivity. However, in today’s world, the good reputation of a company also hinges on the degree to which they care for their employees. Companies therefore need to look beyond profits as their metric for workplace success.

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What is Overcoming Mobbing about?

Overcoming Mobbing (2014) offers a practical guide to the problem of “mobbing” in the workplace. Based on clinical practice and research, it offers valuable insights into the conditions that allow for workplace mobbing, and gives tips on how victims of mobbing can best recover.

Overcoming Mobbing Review

Overcoming Mobbing (2003) by Maureen Duffy and Len Sperry provides valuable insights and strategies for dealing with workplace harassment. Here's why this book is worth reading:

Offers a comprehensive understanding of mobbing, including its causes and consequences, enabling readers to effectively address this issue in their own lives.
Provides practical tools and techniques for coping with mobbing situations, empowering individuals to regain control and restore their self-esteem.
With its real-life case studies and expert advice, the book offers a compelling and relatable exploration of mobbing, making it a captivating read.

Who should read Overcoming Mobbing?

Victims of mobbing and their families
Workplace managers and human-resources personnel
Anyone who wants to make their workplace less hostile

About the Author

Maureen Duffy is a therapist and expert in workplace mobbing and bullying, and an affiliate with Qualitative Research Graduate Program at Nova Southeastern University. She also co-wrote the book Mobbing: Causes, Consequences and Solutions.

Len Sperry is Professor of Mental Health Counseling at Florida Atlantic University, and works as a consultant for various businesses on the prevention of mobbing in the workplace.

Categories with Overcoming Mobbing

Psychology Career & Success

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