Mobbing, a phenomenon against humanity
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. If you do not behave like them or do not behave as they wish, you will be eliminated, which means they will remove you. Mobbing means a worker, student or individual in the community is so subjected to discrimination, humiliation, insult, and harassment that is no longer tolerable for them. In this article, I intend to introduce you to this inhumane phenomenon that maybe you have seen (or experienced) in offices or educational institutions, especially in countries where corruption statistics are high.
A worker who is very diligent and accurate and honest is mocked by the manager and his (or her) entourage because his work is threatening their interests or a university professor who, in addition to work, teaching, research, writing and affairs related to academic duties in the field of social affairs, is facing community problems and challenges through opposition and interest, jealousy.
University and institute managers being subjected to pressure and threats that force him taking only written essays and research and not dealing with the social challenges of the country and its people, and causing so much pressure and discrimination, humiliation and insult to be either expelled or fired.
Mobbing at work, home, and school and in the community is the source of many social problems such as escape from home, unemployment, divorce, addiction, suicide, retaliation, bad morals, anger, even murder and other crimes. In many cases, it can be concluded that initiation of Mobbing is due to reassignment of a staff member. For example, an employee who is new to a section is more likely to be subjected to psychological abuse. Similarly, when the head of a section changes; the other employees will often bunch up against him or her – probing/undermining the new manager’s authority.
Effects of Mobbing
Effects of Mobbing include things such as distorting or eliminating the victim’s confidence, becoming a paranoid and mental disturbance, avoiding the community, feeling scared and embarrassed, anger, regret, and mobbing, causing physical and mental disorders such as crying, disturbed sleep, high blood pressure, even cardiovascular disease.
Many European organizations, as part of an educational curriculum at work, are also anticipating work-related mobbing or mental harassment in the workplace, as most organizations have calculated the economic losses due to Mobbing. In fact, only the harassed employee does not suffer a loss, but due to repeated employee absences and lack of proper work due to the employee’s mental discomfort, it reduces the organization’s production and leads to significant losses to the organization.
Ways to stop Mobbing
- Walk away. If the situation seems threatening or dangerous, it’s best to get away from the mobber. Even if it is not a dangerous situation, remember that you don’t have to listen to someone saying mean things to you. The best thing to do might be to calmly walk away from the person. This will send the message that you won’t put up with this kind of treatment.
- Tell someone so the mobber will stop. It’s important to report bullying right away so that someone in authority can put a stop to it. By telling someone (a manager, HR etc) that you are being mobbed, you will be standing up for yourself and showing the bullies that you will not put up with their abuse.
- Ask the bully to stop if you feel safe doing so. If you don’t feel physically threatened, using direct, assertive communication and body language is a good way to address a bully. If a mobber continues to harass you even after you have walked away, calmly let him/her know that you will not put up with the behaviour. Turn and face the offender and tell him to stop.
- Stay calm. It is the bully’s goal to get an emotional response out of you, do your best to keep calm and avoid showing how you feel. Try your best not to show that you are angry, sad, or frightened. The mobber may feed off of these emotions and increase the efforts.
The Law of Jante
Any Norwegian you’re likely to come across will be acquainted with Axel Sandemose’s Law of Jante on the subject:
- You’re not to think you are anything special
- You’re not to think you are as good as we
- You’re not to think you are smarter than we
- You’re not to imagine yourself better than we
- You’re not to think you know more than we
- You’re not to think you are more important than we
- You’re not to think you are good at anything
- You’re not to laugh at us
- You’re not to think anyone cares about you
- You’re not to think you can teach us anything
References
Surviving Workplace Mobbing: Identify the Stages
Urban Dictionary: Mobbing
Wikipedia: Mobbing
Mexican Consulting: Mobbing
Wikipedia: Law of Jante
Wikihow: Stop Bullying
Related articles
100 cases of mobbing reported – most are being put aside
The school does too little against bullying
New Year’s speech by HM King Harald
Most bullying happens at school
This article is written by our contributor, Ali Ashrafi, to be shared with the esteemed readers of Norway Today.
© Ali Ashrafi / #Norway Today