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| Feature
Articles : Checklist
of Mobbing Indicators |
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| Checklist of Mobbing Indicators
By Prof. Kenneth Westhues
As
workplace mobbing becomes more widely known and deplored,
it is to be expected that many workers in academe,
as in other fields, will claim to be mobbed as a way
of warding off criticism and strengthening their positions
in office politics. Indeed, many workers will genuinely
feel that they are being mobbed and will attribute
lack of sympathy from others as proof that the others
are part of the mob. It is therefore essential that
any claimed or apparent case of mobbing be subjected
to hard-nosed scrutiny in light of empirical indicators,
measurable criteria by which to conclude that yes,
this is a case of mobbing, or no, it is not.
Below is a checklist of 16 indicators
or measures that I have used in my research, and offered
on workshop handouts entitled, "WAMI,
The Waterloo Anti-Mobbing Instruments" (PDF).
In the introduction to my 2006 book, The Prevention
and Remedy of Mobbing in Higher Education, I apply
these 16 indicators systematically to two different
mobbing cases, to illustrate variations on common
themes. There is nothing sacred about the list. In
my book, The
Envy of Excellence, the 16 indicators are boiled
down to ten. Perhaps the most important indicator
is shown here as No. 12, the enlargement of some real
or imagined misdeed or fault in order to smear the
target's whole identity, so that he or she is seen
as personally abhorrent — a totally alien other,
a dangerous, repugnant entity that turns the stomachs
of good and decent people.
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1. |
By standard criteria of job
performance, the target is at least average, probably
above average. |
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2. |
Rumours and gossip circulate
about the target’s misdeeds: “Did
you hear what she did last week?” |
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3. |
The target is not invited
to meetings or voted onto committees, is excluded
or excludes self. |
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4. |
Collective focus on a critical
incident that “shows what kind of man he
really is.” |
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5. |
Shared conviction that the
target needs some kind of formal punishment, “to
be taught a lesson.” |
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6. |
Unusual timing of the decision
to punish, e. g., apart from the annual performance
review. |
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7. |
Emotion-laden, defamatory
rhetoric about the target in oral and written
communications. |
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8. |
Formal expressions of collective
negative sentiment toward the target, e. g. a
vote of censure, signatures on a petition, meeting
to discuss what to do about the target. |
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9. |
High value on secrecy, confidentiality,
and collegial solidarity among the mobbers. |
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10. |
Loss of diversity of argument,
so that it becomes dangerous to “speak up
for” or defend the target. |
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11. |
The adding up of the target’s
real or imagined venial sins to make a mortal
sin that cries for action. |
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12. |
The target is seen as personally
abhorrent, with no redeeming qualities; stigmatizing,
exclusionary labels are applied. |
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13. |
Disregard of established procedures,
as mobbers take matters into their own hands. |
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14. |
Resistance to independent,
outside review of sanctions imposed on the target. |
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15. |
Outraged response to any appeals
for outside help the target may make. |
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16. |
Mobbers’ fear of violence
from target, target’s fear of violence from
mobbers, or both. |
INDEX
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PREV
TOP |
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| Indifference,
to me, is the epitome of evil.
~ Elie Wiesel |
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"If
everyone is in agreement to condemn someone
accused, release him, for he must be innocent."
~ Talmudic
Principle |
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WEBQuotes
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Calgary Herald
"...grossly
unacceptable employer behaviour."
>
AFL
"There was a lot
of bullying in the newsroom and it was a gift
to be able to stand up and say we are prepared
to do something about it."
>
UNB
Canwest Global
"The CanWest
corporation is showing the ugly and intolerant
face of modern media," ... "While
openly interfering in editorial content it cravenly
punishes those journalists who have the courage
to protest."
>
IFJ
"Many journalists
left CanWest, deciding to quit or take disability
leave after the frigid mood of their newsrooms
made them ill."
>
Canwest Watch
Imperial Parking
"Timothy Lloyd
decided he had had enough of "going in
to war every day." ... I was very unhappy
in my work -- burned out, stressed out ... There
were constant threats of dismissal, constant
invading of my personal space, and use of profanity
that was personally directed at me."
>
HealthSmith
Annuity Research
& Marketing Service Ltd.
"Every employer,
said Justice Dambrot, owes a contractual duty
to its employees to “treat them fairly,
with civility, decency, respect, and dignity.”
By failing to protect Ms. Stamos from Mr. Hammami’s
harassment, the court concluded that the employer
had breached this contractual duty."
>
Labor Relations Consultants
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