Mobbing is the systematic and deliberate psychological pressure exerted by a person or group on another person. This behavior, which is usually done by more powerful or authorized people in business life, is seen in various ways such as isolating the victim, humiliating or creating insecurity. Mobbing, which can cause negative effects on psychological and physical health in the long term, should be handled within the framework of regulations that aim to make working life safe and supportive. Mobbing can be seen not only in workplaces but also in all kinds of social environments. Mobbing can also occur among students in schools, in family relationships or in social circles. In the family, controlling parents or siblings can exert psychological pressure on a person by constantly criticizing and humiliating them. At school, mobbing, known as peer bullying, can occur through power imbalance and social exclusion among students. This type of psychological harassment can cause serious emotional scars on victims and lead to social isolation.
Why Mobbing?
Mobbing can be caused by a variety of reasons and is often caused by a combination of individual, psychological, social and institutional factors. One of the most common causes is the tendency to abuse power. Some people put pressure on others to feel superior or secure at work. Competition and jealousy can lead to negative attitudes in people who see their coworkers’ performance as a threat. In addition, in-house management deficiencies, unhealthy competitive environment or insufficient communication can also trigger mobbing. Outside of the work environment, emotions such as the search for power and control, personal insecurities, jealousy, and competition can lead people to pressure others. People who punish mobbing may put others in a difficult situation to cover their own shortcomings, maintain their social status, or gain a sense of superiority. In addition, personal psychological conditions such as lack of communication skills of individuals, lack of empathy or past traumas can also trigger mobbing behavior.
What are the Symptoms of Mobbing?
Symptoms of mobbing occur as various situations that negatively affect the psychological and physical health of the victim. Symptoms include intense anxiety, loss of self-confidence, constant feelings of inadequacy, difficulty concentrating, and mental symptoms such as sleep disturbances. Behavioral changes such as social withdrawal, loneliness, decline in work or school achievement, and avoidance of communication are also frequent. Long-term mobbing can also affect a person’s physical health, leading to psychosomatic problems such as headaches and stomach problems. Mobbing people try to wear out the victim with various manipulative and aggressive behaviors. Common mobbing gestures include:
Humiliation: Humiliation is a tactic frequently used by mobbing people against the victim and aims to damage the person’s self-confidence. Humiliation occurs by methods such as belittling the victim’s achievements, showing their work as worthless by constantly criticizing them, or targeting the victim with sarcastic and derogatory expressions.Social Isolation: Social Isolation is an important tactic applied in the mobbing process and is based on leaving the victim alone. The person who is mobbed is excluded from team meetings, not included in projects or ignored by colleagues. Social isolation makes the victim feel lonely and worthless, while weakening their institutional ties. In the process of social isolation, both the social support of the individual decreases and his motivation decreases by losing confidence.
Constant Criticism: Constant criticism is a tactic in which the mobbing person tries to damage the victim’s self-confidence by directing constant and unnecessary criticism. Criticism is aimed at the victim’s abilities and ability to do business rather than being constructive. Even the smallest mistakes are exaggerated, unnecessarily reiterated over and over again. The perpetuation of criticism aims to make the victim feel at fault and gradually weakens the person’s self-confidence.Misinformation: In misinformation, it is aimed to do things wrong by giving incomplete or incorrect information to the victim. Thus, the victim is often forced to make mistakes and the impression is created that he has failed. This damages the victim’s reputation in the workplace and undermines their professional confidence.
What are the Types of Mobbing?
The separation of mobbing into different types reflects the diversity that arises depending on the environment in which it is experienced and the power relationship between the parties. Common types of mobbing include:
Vertical Mobbing: For “What is vertical mobbing?”, vertical mobbing is a type of mobbing caused by psychological pressure and a hierarchical power imbalance in the workplace. It usually manifests itself in the form of pressure, humiliation or discrimination by a manager in a superior position towards his subordinates. In vertical mobbing, managers may belittle the performance of their subordinates, constantly criticize or question their abilities, damaging their self-confidence. Sometimes, mobbing is carried out with practices such as unfairly increasing the workload of the subordinate or depriving them of resources.
Horizontal Mobbing: For “What is horizontal mobbing?”, it can be said that it is a type of mobbing that takes place between individuals at the same hierarchical level. It usually occurs in the workplace due to reasons such as competition, jealousy, or disagreement. Employees may exclude the person they are targeting, avoid collaboration, or try to damage their social and professional reputation by spreading negative rumors about them. While horizontal mobbing weakens solidarity and trust within the team, it also negatively affects the work motivation and performance of the victim.
Emotional Mobbing: In emotional mobbing, the person is constantly criticized, made to feel worthless and tried to make them feel inadequate. People who engage in emotional mobbing put the victim under pressure with belittled or ridiculing expressions and shake the individual’s self-confidence in his business or social life with psychological harassment. Psychological violence, which constantly creates stress, can seriously affect the mental health of the victim and can lead to emotional problems such as loneliness and depression.
Social Mobbing: Social mobbing is a type of psychological pressure exerted by excluding and isolating a person from the social environment. In social mobbing, the victim is deliberately excluded from group activities, meetings or communication channels. The person feels isolated and worthless with behaviors such as being ignored in the work or social environment, being exposed to gossip or not being included in group chats. This weakens the victim’s social support and sense of belonging, leading to psychological wear.Cyber Mobbing: Cyber mobbing is a type of bullying in the digital environment and takes place through digital channels such as social media, messaging applications or e-mail. Cybermobbing people try to isolate the victim from their social environment by making derogatory messages, threats or embarrassing posts.
What are the Features of Mobbing?
Mobbing is known for its specific features. It is done systematically, deliberately and continuously. It aims to put pressure on the psychological, social and sometimes physical health of the victim. It often involves an imbalance of power or authority and is intended to exert control over the victim. Mobbing, which can occur in different types, is maintained by behaviors such as isolating the victim, belittling him or damaging his social reputation. In particular, it aims to undermine the trust of the victim and leave him vulnerable.
How Does Mobbing Happen at Work?
Mobbing in the workplace occurs when one or a group of employees systematically exerts pressure on another employee. Mobbing in the workplace occurs with behaviors such as constant criticism, unnecessary blame, belittling talents, exclusion or giving false information. People who practice mobbing try to damage the victim’s reputation by making him unable to do business and isolate him in the work environment. It can often be experienced by superiors to subordinates or between people in the same position, seriously affecting the motivation and psychological health of the victim.
How Does Mobbing Happen at Home?
Mobbing at home occurs when one family member exerts systematic psychological pressure on the other. In psychological pressure, the target person is worn out with behaviors such as constant criticism, humiliation, isolation and manipulation. Parents can make their children feel worthless by constantly criticizing or belittling them, or mobbing can occur with behaviors such as jealousy, ridicule or social exclusion between siblings. Mobbing at home damages the individual’s sense of trust and belonging, and can have serious psychological effects in the long run. In consultation with an expert, it is necessary to get detailed information about “What is mobbing at home?”.
How to Deal with Mobbing?
Although it is challenging to deal with mobbing, it is possible to reduce its effects with various strategies by getting enough information about “What is mobbing pressure?”. First, it is important to record what happened objectively. Noting the date, time, and content of the event provides evidence that may be needed in the future. Talking to a trusted friend or family member can provide emotional support. The first step in dealing with mobbing is to get professional support and reduce the emotional burden of the process. Therapy enables the person to understand the effects of mobbing on them and to develop healthier coping methods. Face-to-face therapy offers the opportunity to express what is happening in a safe environment by interacting directly with the therapist and helps the person feel stronger. It may not always be possible to go to therapy, but thanks to online therapy sessions, a person can get professional support from the comfort of their home. Thanks to the remote access facility, it is easy to participate in therapy at convenient times. The process, which is carried out with a flexible program, both regains emotional balance and develops healthier coping methods. An online psychologist helps to understand and reduce the effects of mobbing in a safe environment, such as stress, lack of self-confidence and anxiety. During the therapy process, various strategies for coping with mobbing are learned and the competence of defending one’s own rights develops.
How Does Mobbing Affect the Individual?
Mobbing can have serious effects on a person’s psychological, emotional and physical health. Constant pressure and negative criticism lead to a loss of self-confidence and a feeling of inadequacy. Over time, emotional disturbances such as depression, anxiety, and stress disorders may develop. Physically, sleep disorders, fatigue and psychosomatic disorders (such as headaches, stomach problems) may occur. Psychological mobbing can also affect a person’s social relationships, causing loneliness and distancing from social support. Various effects, which are the answer to the question “What is psychological harassment?”, can progress unless professional support is obtained.
Mobbing Examples
Mobbing behaviors, which are common in business life, manifest themselves in methods such as constantly excluding the targeted person, ignoring their ideas or exaggerating their small mistakes. Recognizing examples of mobbing can help a person protect themselves. Examples of mobbing include:
Exaggerating small mistakes and constantly devaluing the work done,
Making derogatory jokes about the person’s physical characteristics or personal life,
Providing incomplete or incorrect information about the project or business processes,
Ignoring the employee’s ideas or ignoring their contributions,
Parents or spouses constantly criticize the individual in a way that makes them feel inadequate,
Deliberately keeping a person away from decision-making processes or activities in the family,
Family members pressuring a person to control their emotions or behavior,
An attempt to dominate a person by violating their privacy.
Therapy addresses the emotional wounds caused by mobbing, helping the person feel empowered and valued again. If it is difficult to go to face-to-face therapy for the answer to the question “What is bullying?”, therapy with an online psychologist may also be a good option. With remote access, it can be ensured that the person receives psychological support in a comfortable environment within a flexible program.
