‘Want to know how mobbing in the workplace progresses step by step? Here are all the dirty but tiny details you need to know.
In this post, you will learn all about mobbing in the workplace. Also, you will learn how it begins and how it progresses, step by tiny step, in chronological order so that you’ll know what to expect if it ever happens to you.
Once you learn all the small details, you will be better able to predict it and, more importantly, outflank workplace bullies when they come for you.
This post is all about mobbing in the workplace so that you’ll be better prepared when workplace bullies set their sights on you.
Mobbing in the workplace
What is Mobbing?
Mobbing is extreme bullying by large groups. It can involve an entire school, workplace, or community.
The mob often acts under the influence of a ringleader or someone in a position of power. Mobbing almost always happens out of retaliation. Maybe the target became fed-up with being bullied and finally spoke out. Maybe they did something about it.
However, most people resort to mobbing when they’re pissed off at someone and want to teach them a lesson.
Mobbing has other names as well. People often refer to it as collective bullying.
Remember that bullies and their followers expect the target to stay quiet about the abuse. They may even demand that he bow down to and submit to it.
And when a targeted individual stands up to the bullies, they’ll punish them by working everyone else into a mob.
Chronic Bullying is Mobbing
Bullying becomes Chronic when the bullying has gone on over time. Moreover, once bullies repeat the behavior for any length of time, it escalates to a dangerous level. It doesn’t take long for bullying to reach epic proportions.
After a while, bullies grow so comfortable with bullying you that they skyrocket the torment. Moreover, they pursue you obsessively and non-stop.
When there’s chronic bullying, there’s usually no accountability. And where there’s no accountability, there’s no incentive to stop.
Authorities refuse to address the bullies’ behavior. Then, the bullies become brazen and cocky. Therefore, their actions grow in strength, frequency, and level of cruelty.
Also, the bullies’ apathy toward you grows to a point where they lose all empathy. Consequently, they come to feel nothing but blind hatred and fury toward you.
Bullies and bystanders take the attitude that anything they do to you, no matter how cruel or dangerous, is good. Why? Because, to them, you have no value, and your life is worth nothing.
Bullying at work usually happens at the behest of a bully in power.
Bullies in power usually have followers and minions backing them up. Moreover, they enlist these human worker bees to do their dirty work.
Bullying becomes mobbing when an entire group unites to mob one person. And the bullying becomes so significant, so ingrained, and so severe that it seemingly takes on a life of its own.
Therefore, there’s no stopping it at this stage.
Members of the bullying group become drunk on their own power. Furthermore, bullying and tormenting you is all they can focus on.
Instead of the bullies controlling their evil emotions and actions, their feelings and actions begin to control them! Your bullies are so blinded by senseless rage that their very hatred controls their every move.
Mobbing in the Workplace:
When Bullying Morphs into Mobbing
They have become so addicted to power and control that they must constantly bully you to get their fix. It’s the only way they can maintain the high that this power gives them.
Understand that when bullying becomes mobbing, bullies don’t see you as a human being. They see you as so worthless and inferior that, you don’t deserve oxygen, much less any respect.
This is why mobbing is dangerous. Because, if you’re a victim of it, you the chance of either dying by suicide or murder. Yes, bullies do murder their victims.
This is why it’s so important to get out of the environment any time you suffer mobbing. Transfer to another school. Go to work for another company, or move to another area.
Never stay in an environment that hates you. It isn’t worth the cost to your mental health! The only way you’ll ever find peace is to leave without telling anyone. Only then will you be safe and have peace of mind.
Here’s a description of mobbing:
A large group of people (or mob) targets you because you opened your mouth about their abuse. Slowly, over time, they become increasingly aggressive.
Also, the number of attackers grows until they strip you of every ounce of power and completely isolate you.
Group aggression, or collective bullying, serves to reinforce a shared negative view of you. Moreover, this happens regardless of your prior value or reputation.
Vicious gossip about you circulates throughout the environment. People stick destructive labels to you and throw damaging accusations at you until they completely isolate you.
The mob will expand to include several teachers and school staff if you’re a victim of mobbing at school. Also, managers and supervisors may join the mob if you’re a target at work.
Bullies may even encourage people who are mostly peaceful and kind to join in. In other words, those who normally treat others with kindness may hate you.
Again, a bully in power directs them to gossip about you. Moreover, they instruct them to bully and abuse you.
Therefore, even the sweetest, most compassionate people can suddenly become brutal and nasty.
Peer pressure and group behavior have truckloads of influence!
Mobbing in the Workplace:
One by one, people you thought were friends begin turning on you.
And, one by one, the entire student body, workplace, or community turns their backs on you. They start slandering you. Moreover, they begin accusing you of one infraction after another.
In most cases, the people who are generally good, kind people won’t see themselves as participants of mobbing. No.
They’ll only think of themselves as defenders against an evil enemy. Therefore, they view their atrocious behavior as justified. To them, the nasty behavior is necessary.
Why? Because to know themselves as bullying participants goes against their sense of decency.
Even Sweet and Kind People Act Differently in a Group.
Always! They will be totally different people because they feel they must conform. They’ll be so different that you’ll no longer recognize them.
In fact, people who are normally sweet and kind are exponentially meaner than those who were already bullies to begin with. Why? Because they feel they have something to prove to the group.
Again, once bullying escalates to mobbing, it’s nearly impossible to stop.
The reason mobbing damages you the most is because of the support you lose so quickly. As more and more people jump on the hate bandwagon, you become radioactive.
Therefore, before long, everyone avoids you. Moreover, they continue blaming you for any tiny thing that goes wrong. Even things you couldn’t possibly have any control over.
In other words, they close ranks, thereby eliminating any help or escape from the abuse.
Sadly, there isn’t much you can do once the violence has escalated to this point.
Mobbing in the Workplace:
Step-by-Step Description of Mobbing in Progress
I can’t stress this enough. Mobbing is THE severest form of bullying. Once the bullying reaches the stage of mobbing, this is when the bullying becomes life-threatening! And if you ever a target of it, you’ll know firsthand how destructive it is.
This is how mobbing starts.
A bully or small group of bullies start a successful smear campaign. Mind you, these bullies are in positions of power. Moreover, they’re well-practiced in the arts of persuasion and influence.
Here’s something I want you to realize. A smear campaign is nowhere near as tricky as it looks. You’d be amazed at just how simple it is to smear someone. It’s so easy that it shouldn’t be so effective, but it is!
To quote the old Geico commercial, it’s “so easy; a caveman can do it.”
Here’s a chronological, step-by-step recap of how bullies do it and succeed at it:
1. The bullies Spot a specific individual who refuses to conform to their standard of who she should be.
Let’s call her “Cindy.”
Before, the bullies could influence everyone else and get them to submit to their every whim. Then, low and behold, along comes Cindy, who’s stubborn. She subtly resists the bullies’ control and doesn’t allow them to change her personality.
Moreover, Cindy doesn’t realize their motives. She doesn’t know that, just by doing her thing, she’s enraging the bullies.
Therefore, she goes on about her business and makes plans for her future. She accomplishes achievement after achievement.
Maybe she gets loads of positive attention and praise from others because she’s so successful and well-liked.
2. Mobbing in the Workplace:
Next, the bullies begin to smear Cindy.
To implement their smear campaign, they watch Cindy closely. They studying her behavior and the way she reacts and responds to stimuli. And they continue to watch her until they can anticipate her reactions.
3. The bullies then train their audience to expect a certain behavior out of Cindy.
They point out those behaviors when they occur. The bullies then associate Cindy’s completely innocent behavior with something bad or evil.
For example, let’s say that Cindy is sweet, playful, and likes to engage in a little banter. The bullies watch as Cindy banters with people.
She playfully calls someone a “dummy” or a “goofball.” However, others know that it’s all for harmless jokes. Therefore, they think it’s funny because Cindy is a genuinely kind person.
4. Next, the bullies begin making offhand comments.
They remark that Cindy’s kindness is only an attempt to kiss ass because she wants something from people. The bullies tell others that Cindy thinks they really are dummies. She only covers it under a veil of fun jokes and playfulness.
The bullies also make statements that Cindy thinks she’s cute. They also accuse her of thinking she’s smarter than everyone else.
5. The Bullies Then Repeat them.
And they repeat the same lies over and over again. To quote Josef Goebbels, “Tell a lie once, and it remains a lie. Tell a lie a thousand times, and it becomes the truth.”
The next time others see Cindy being kind to and playfully bantering with someone, she doesn’t look so cute. Moreover, the banter isn’t so funny anymore.
Now people begin to see a side of Cindy they can’t believe they never noticed before.
6. Feeling smug, the bullies look at themselves, then at Cindy with smirks on their crooked faces and try the same thing all over again.
Therefore, they continue repeating the same lies again and again.
Before you know it, everyone wonders what they ever saw in Cindy, to begin with. Soon, they start having negative feelings toward the poor girl.
7. Cindy picks up on the negative vibes and begins to withdraw.
She doesn’t understand what she did for others to begin treating her so coldly. Therefore, she doesn’t speak to people like she did before. And why should she?
People have begun turning on her. Therefore, Cindy isn’t going to put herself in a situation to be rejected.
8. The bullies then notice that Cindy is growing distant.
They make sure to point this out to everyone. Moreover, they use Cindy’s distance as confirmation that she really does think less of everyone at work.
“Hey, look! Do you see that? Now, what did we tell you? Cindy really does think we’re all dummies! She really does think she’s smarter than the rest of us!”
“And her ass-kissing didn’t work, so now she’s too good to speak to anyone!”
9. Cindy’s withdrawal only makes people resent her more.
Although she only grew distant out of self-protection, others mistake it for arrogance. Maybe they know that Cindy isn’t being smug. However, they don’t want to believe it. They only want to believe the running narrative.
10. Things only snowball from there.
Understand that people are human, and they make mistakes. They misjudge innocent others all the time.
A smear campaign is most effective when bullies can condition a group to see any quality in you as a bad thing.
Therefore, people can become extremely cold and cruel to you. And they repeat the same cruel behavior, over and over again.
Understand that smear campaigns are effective because they quickly become bullying. Then, they escalate to mobbing.
And once it increases to mobbing, it’s unstoppable. And, sadly, the only way you can take your life back is to leave the toxic environment altogether.
This post was all about mobbing in the workplace so that you can recognize it while it’s happening and make your escape before it’s too late.
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