Overcoming Mobbing (PDF)

Research shows that as many as 37% of American workers have experienced workplace abuse at some time in their working lives. Mobbing, a form of abuse in which individuals, groups, or organizations target a single person for ridicule, humiliation, and removal from the workplace, can lead to deteriorating physical and mental health, violence, and even suicide.

Overcoming Mobbing is an informative, comprehensive guidebook written for the victims of mobbing and their families. In an engaging and reader-friendly style, mobbing experts Maureen Duffy and Len Sperry help readers to make sense of the experience and mobilize resources for recovery. The authors distinguish mobbing from bullying-in that it takes place within organizational or institutional settings-and demonstrate how mobbing is not about the occasional negative experience at work; rather, mobbing involves ongoing negative acts, both overt and covert, that over time erode workers' confidence in themselves and in their workplaces. Demystifying the experience of mobbing through the use of examples and case studies, Overcoming Mobbing provides effective strategies for recovery from mobbing as well as for prevention. More than a simple self-help book, this guide offers a detailed presentation of the causes and consequences of mobbing, helps readers avoid falling into the trap of misplacing blame, and holds organizations at the center of responsibility for preventing this devastating type of abuse. In addition to those who have experienced mobbing, this book is an invaluable resource for workplace managers and human resources personnel who wish to prevent or reverse mobbing within their own professional settings.