Mobbing in the Workplace - Assignment Example

Mobbing in the workplace Unison of humans with an urge to usher an organization into a leading ‘utopia’ will be a successful endeavor, if the humans show unified, undaunted, unabated and unabashed conduct. And, if all the ‘parts’ of an organization, which include the workers and the departments, conduct this way, they can be fully utilized to have ubiquitous presence all over the world. So, it is similar, to how all the body parts or organs function unison ly to help a human survive, study, search, succeed etc. But, ironically when the body parts of the worker itself gets affected including the physical body and importantly the mental part, due to the events that take places inside an organization or in a workplace, then the concept of unison will be unfulfilled. This could happen when the evil practice of mobbing is carried out in the workplace. So, this paper will discuss, what mobbing is, that is, its definition, the reasons why the worker could be affected, its critical point of view, the questions it raises, how mobbing gives new perspective by formulating a hypothesis and finally the methodology that should be used for testing the formulated hypothesis. Definition If a worker working in an organization, for a short period or a long period (whatever be the case), is affected or injured physically, mentally or both due to the actions, carried out by co-workers or superior workers, in the form of threat, intimidation, assault, torture etc, then it is known as mobbing. So, if simply said, mobbing is hobnobbing of workers to rob the lives of co-workers. Specific question So this type behavior raises the basic and simple question, why the worker behaves like this? That is, the workers are also humans, each with a mind, which is not retarded or underdeveloped. So, what causes the worker to become uncivilized, immature and violence infected? And the specific question is, what causes the worker to behave in an unkindly manner when they indulge in the unkindly act of mobbing? What are the reasons that make the worker to mob or torture his/her co-worker? And what are the factors that make a worker in a workplace vulnerable to mobbing? Objectives So, the objective of this paper is to find out what goes in the mind of the workers, which forces him/her to act in a way, which will be inimical to the lives of the co-workers. Also, what are the external factors or influences that make the mind function in that inimical way? And finally what are the vulnerabilities that are exposed by the affected workers, which entice the mobbing group on them. And importantly testing an important hypothesis and finding out its results. Spelling out all these factors will be the objective of this paper. Definitions According to Herr Zucker, mobbing shows itself in three ways, (1) by employees against a colleague, (2) by employees against a subordinate and (3) by employees against a superior. Another researcher describes it as a deliberate ‘campaign’ by co-workers to exclude, punish and humiliate a targeted worker in a ‘desperate urge to crush and eliminate’ them in the workplace (Westhues, 2002). “It is a ‘ganging up’ by the leader(s) - organization, superior, co-worker, or subordinate - who rallies others into systematic and frequent ‘mob-like’ behavior. Because the organization ignores, condones, or even instigates the behavior, it can be said that the victim, seemingly helpless against the powerful and many, is indeed ‘mobbed.’ The result is always injury - physical ormental distress or illness and social misery and, most often, expulsion from the workplace” (Davenport.et.al.1999). Leymann (1994) described ‘mobbing’ as ‘harassing’, ‘ganging up on someone’, or ‘psychologically terrorizing’ others at work. The word mobbing actually comes from the English verb to mob. And, its usage in human context was done for the first time, by the ethnologist, Konrad Lorenz, who borrowed the term from animal science. The literal meaning of the word is “to form a crowd around someone in order to attack him or her and it mainly defined the behavior of some animal species. And it was German psychologist, Heinz Leymann who used the term to define extreme and inimical human behavior by workers against their own co-workers in a work place. Leinz started studying the mobbing phenomenon during the 1980s and after lot of research defined it as psychological violence at work. Appraisal of existing Information As mobbing is a worldwide phenomenon, lot of study is done, being done and also will be done about it. The study, which already exists, has provided lot of inputs for this paper. So, evaluating the existing information will give the reasons why this sinful mobbing is taking place. One of the main reasons, why this mobbing mentality arises is because certain workers are treated as mere “expendable”, and are often the first to be forced out. That is, due to economic crisis in the organization and also due to complacency on the part of senior management, some workers will be treated as if they are no longer needed in the organization. This mindset will lead to mobbing, to get rid the person from the workplace. Mobbing activities are also directed at whistleblowers. Whistleblowing, the act of speaking out from or within an organization to expose a problem, is a useful concept that brings out the wrongs, so it can be corrected. This form of secret dissenting is the only option for an aggrieved worker and it may help him/her. But, the most common experience of whistle blowers is that they are attacked. Instead of their messages being evaluated, the full power of the organization is turned against the whistle blower. Mobbing could also be based on race, language, religion etc. That is, in a workplace there will be workers from different backgrounds having different ideologies and they will hold to it. And, in the act of mobbing these issues will be broached by the ‘mobbers’ to mentally hurt the workers. That is, these issues, which are always sensitive, arose emotions and the culprits will intentionally use it. Also, mobbing is initiated most often, by a person, who is in a position of power or influence. That is, He/she will use his/her superior position to give troubles in the form low salary, over work, insults etc. Also, mobbing will concentrate on workers who are performing well. That is, in a group of bad workers, one who performs best will always be looked differently and even isolated. This isolation in some cases will reach the state of mobbing. So, when one evaluates the mobbing victims one will get the idea that most times, victims are usually individuals who are demonstrating intelligence, competence, creativity, integrity, and dedication in the every work they undertake. So, it is ironical situation because the worker who functions exceptionally is the one who loses out. Literature search The literature that normally deals this type of issue is actual reports, case studies, research papers and personal accounts. All these literature are not fictional accounts, it is real life accounts, as the problem of mobbing is a real phenomenon that is affecting many lives. The actual reports and personal accounts of mobbing are released and published by the victims themselves, and also by the persons who are witness to the act of mobbing. There were also instances of overseeing authority, which could be superior officers, external vigilance officials, even investigative officials bringing out actual reports as well as personal accounts, which deals with mobbing. Then, case studies and research papers on mobbing are brought out by the experts, who through wide research, hands on experience, personal interaction will go deep into the issue. Also, there are occasions of academicians and students presenting research papers and also case studies, as part of their curriculum. Also, there are other reasons for this wide availability of literature on this subject of mobbing. This is a problem of mobbing is prevalent in every organization, in every nook and corner of the world. Also, it is a very serious problem because it could even take out a life or wipe out lives from the face of the earth. We are living in the times, when media have become the integral part of every one’s lives. And, they are entering one’s life either invited or uninvited. The same is the case with organization and workplace. That is, every organization’s moves, if specifically said, every successful organization moves, are widely watched, analyzed, scrutinized, criticized etc. This being the case, the important feature of human activity will also be under close watch. So, anything that goes wrong including the activity of mobbing cannot be kept under wraps. Classification of pertinent information As said in the above part of paper, the information about mobbing can be sourced from variety of sources and each can be classified, according to the information it provides. Most of the materials about mobbing, detail every facet of it from its origin, its happenings in real life situations, how it affects the individual workers and most importantly the causes, which force the individual to torture his/her co-worker. The causes, which are the pertinent issue of this paper, can be classified on the basis of the authors of the literature. That is, if the author gives his/her personal account of the mobbing experience, he/she will blame the culprit or the opposite party for causing this nightmarish experience. So, the co-worker will be the initiator of the causes, with the author being just a victim and not the one who could be blamed for his/her bad experience. He/she will concentrate more or give more space to the difficulties, inconveniences, tortures, pain etc he/she faced in the workplace. Also, they could not blamed for evading from giving the reasons because they only want others to know they are the sufferers, who want support as well as persecution for the culprits. Apart from this, they may not at all, know the actual reasons behind the mobbing of them. They will only feel helpless and could not analyze the real reasons. Then if the author is a researcher or expert in the field, who is giving a third person account and analyzing the whole issue, he/she will bring out the entire gamut of reasons. That is, the motive of this type of author is nothing personal, so they put forward the actual reasons behind any mobbing incident. So, the author will blame both the culprit as well as the victim as the causes for any mobbing. The causes brought out by the author, can be studied to prevent the recurrences of this kind of mobbing. And, if the author belongs to any specialized field, he/she will study the causes from their of field of interest. That is, if a person, who practices law or medicine, discusses the causes of mobbing, he/she will produce causes that will have legal or medicinal or psychological touch. This classification is also important because it will give a new perspective of the causes that is behind any mobbing incident. Apart from this classification of the pertinent information of causes, there are other classifications as well, like the causes put forward by the culprit himself/herself and by the superior or investigative officials. Critical appraisal of existing information Sometimes the information provided does not give the exact reasons for pinning the blame for mobbing, on any particular subject. That is, one of the facts that have come out of a study is only 5 percent of the workforce gets directly involved in mobbing. The other 95 percent are involved in the process only as observers, bystanders, or perpetrators (though occasionally also as rescuers or guardians of the target). They mostly deny, gloss over, and forget the mobbing cases in which they took part. And this is one of the reasons why it has taken so long for the phenomenon to be identified and researched. So, most times the causes as well as the mobbing incidents are kept under wraps by the organization. This piece of survey doesn’t show or give specific reasons for the act of mobbing. In some cases various possibilities are analyzed but decision were not taken in favor of the victim. That is, firstly the nature and quality of the evidence, provided by the victim is analyzed. But, in most cases it is not taken in right perspective with the superior officers trying to overlook the evidence. Another important criticism about mobbing is, whether the employer or the management is also liable for the acts of the perpetrators, that is, the workers who are committed the crime of mobbing. Another scenario that exists today and is debatable is the treatment the victim gets. Victim feels increasingly helpless when the organization does not put a stop to the behavior or may even plan or condone it. Because of which productivity is affected. It is followed by resignation by the workers themselves or termination by the authorities, or early retirement in the form of voluntary retirement scheme. And finally for the victim, death - through illness or suicide - may be the final chapter in the mobbing story. It is in workplaces the workers’ rights are formally protected but the complex and devious incursions on human dignity were also made on humans in the same setup. Another criticism, which can be found in the materials that exist today, are sometimes harmless fun, which are treated as mobbing and the innocent workers are treated as culprits and punished without any major investigation. This could happen based on the mindset of the co-workers. That is, in an organization, few workers will always want to have an atmosphere of fun. And for that, they would create situations or use words or do actions that will also elicit humorous response from the other side. But, in some cases it will be on the extreme end with the humorous actions being constructed as insults. And the blame for that result could be fixed on the worker, who initiated the action or on the worker who receives it. That is, the worker who initiates this action could have done it with a negative sense of mind; in that case, the worker who initiated the action can be accused of mobbing. But in some cases, the worker on the opposite side will not take even the humorous actions easily and will view it in the negative sense only. So, when one evaluates the existing information about mobbing, one could come to the conclusion that no in-depth reason is analyzed and all the information are on the creamy layer. Gaps in knowledge So, after evaluating the existing information, and finding out the reasons behind mobbing and then comparing it, with the critical view of the information, one gets the feeling there is a gap in knowledge. That is, something is missing or some in-depth understanding is missing. The understanding of which would give a deeper knowledge on the subject of mobbing. And, this could be used in a positive way in the future. Formulation of Hypothesis After analyzing all the reasons, one gets the feeling that the reason, which is not fully covered and should be dealt in detail, is the concept of dominance that will be visible in the minds of the most humans. And this hypothesis of dominance will be discussed in this part of the paper. That is, the hypothesis of dominance is one of the causes of the mobbing and its formulation and explanation will be pointed out. Ever since humans originated, evolved and developed, their tendency to dominate others has also developed with them, but in the negative sense. That is, when the whole world came under his/her domain, the human donned the role of a dominant and many time lead the world and also lives of others to doom. And, when this dominant attitude is visible in the minds of the workers in the workplace, it will translate into mobbing, wrecking the lives of fellow workers as well as theirs. Some individuals or groups will inherit this dominating characteristics or factors during their ‘birth’ itself. Dominating factors like money, status, reputation etc. will be sought after by everyone, but it is also the ones, which would make the individual, dominate in the negative sense. Even, if they don’t acquire it inborn, they will have the situations and tools on their side, which will make them dominant. And, the workers in the workplace who mob are no exception to this factors as well. That is, this streak of dominance will appear in the children who are not disciplined by the parents. That is, after the child reaches the age of 3 or 4, the child will try to play an independent ‘game’ and try to assert their independence cum dominance. This is where, the parents should interfere and should not allow the child to dominate. If the child dominates the parents through crying, threat to leave the house or even through affection, the parents should not allow it. Because, if the child gets that dominant attitude he/she will use that attitude or behavior in the outside world as well among his friends and relatives. This would only continue into the adulthood and will raise its ugly head in the workplace against the co-worker in the form of mobbing. As most of the human’s character or quality is formed in the childhood itself, the unwieldy child who shows a dominating attitude against parents, friends and relatives, and anguish them will most times do the same to the co-worker. The children and teenagers sometimes join in collectively humiliating one of their friends. The widely publicized deaths of two girls in British Columbia–Reena Virk, beaten and drowned in 1999, and Dawn Marie Wesley, driven to suicide in 2000–have heightened public awareness of the cruel reality of swarming or collective bullying among both girls and boys. So, dominating or bullying that happens in the childhood will only turn to mobbing in the adulthood. And in the adulthood, in the environs of the workplace, the individual would acquire the dominant position due to various factors. Factors such as the position he/she holds, the status he/she enjoys, the salary he/she gets, the type of authority or power he/she given etc. Even though all these factors gives a lot of confidence to the worker, only some will use it, to further their prospects. That is, they will use all these factors in a positive way, suppressing the dominant attitude, which can come attached with these factors. But others are the workers, who indulge in mobbing, by showing this dominant attitude and try to suppress others. Even though this attitude is visible in every walk of life, it is more prevalent in the workplace because of the presence of hierarchy. Also this dominance will reach its peak when the fellow worker shows some kind of weakness, that too in the presence of the dominating persons. Question needing study This dominating attitude is one of the main reasons for mobbing in the workplace. And, if it is controlled only, a good working environment could be created. So, the question that needs to be studied is, what are the preventive measures that can be implemented to avoid the dominant behavior and thereby mobbing in a working environment? That is, some preventive steps during the recruitment stage as well as in the working stage can be adopted to curtail this behavior of the workers. Selection of hypothesis to be tested So, with the dominant attitude fueling the mob culture, the mental frame of the worker could be assessed as a preventive measure. That is, the cause of any human actions and reactions is due to the mental framework. The mental part of the body only through experience, knowledge, exposure etc, etc…initiates the action of the humans. And this applies to the worker who mobs and the worker who is getting mobbed. So, if theirs mind is analyzed by certain tests before recruitment and also during the working period, it will give a fair idea of how the worker will behave in the course of his/her employment. So, the part of the hypothesis, which needs to be tested, is the state of the mind of the worker and how that mind will function in a work place, importantly whether it will show the dominant streak. Testing of Hypothesis The testing of the human mind and its dominant shades can be done through the internationally well-known and widely used tests of EQ (Emotional Quotient). Also called as Emotional Intelligence Quotient, it describes an ability, capacity, or skill to perceive, assess, and manage the emotions of ones self, of others, and of groups. In this definition, the word ‘emotion’ is the keyword, because every human being will have emotions and these emotions will only come out when one acts and reacts. And, this is visible during the act of mobbing also. Emotional intelligence is part of our daily life and in many cases is as important as the “common” intelligence, especially in our modern society or organization. The following Emotional Intelligence Test rates your ability to regulate your emotions in a healthy and balanced manner. And after completion of the test, you will be provided with your emotional strengths and weaknesses. Awareness of your emotional abilities allows you to improve your emotional intelligence and live a happier, more balanced lifestyle. Design of experiment This experiment of EQ tests will provide a better understanding of the worker and this test should be carried in the form of a questionnaire. And answering every question, by giving specific answers from the options given will speaks volumes about the character of the individual. The questionnaire can be designed in the given format. That is, questionnaire given below is just an example, but it is way the designing of experiment to test the hypothesis is done. 1. Suddenly, you feel upset for no reason. Your reaction is to: a. Ignore it. The feeling will pass. b. Stop and reflect for a minute. Figure out whats bothering you. 2. Youre in the middle of a complicated romantic situation. You: a. Find it easy to express all the things you are feeling b. Are probably more than a little confused 3. When youre in a bad mood, whos the first to figure it out? a. You b. People around you 4. You are often surprised by your emotional reaction to things. a. True b. False 5. When it comes to figuring out how people are feeling, you: a. Often know whats up before they tell you b. Often guess wrong 6. When your friend is frustrated or stressed, you know because: a. They told you b. You figured it how by how they were acting Collection of data The subject, in this case the worker will answer all the questions. The answers will be collected and will be analyzed from the dominance point of view. This collection of data could be acquired in one go or the subject will be subjected to these tests during various periods of time and then the data acquired. Classification, Organization and tabulation Then based on the answers given, each answer will be classified, organized and tabulated. That is, every answer will have a common linkage with another answer. And both of them will be interrelated. In that case, the similar answers will be classified as ones and others will be regarded under different classification. Organization part involves organizing in a proper manner the input or answer that are answered. And, same is the case with tabular columns, which can give a clear view and idea of the paper. Analysis of data Analysis of the data is the key thing. That is, after the paper is answered and analyzed, viewing the results and understanding what it say would give a refreshing and clarity look, which will be of great use for the proper management of the workers. All the results will be of useful nature and one have to view it and implement it in the administration of the organization. That is, the results of the EQ test will be of main use during the recruitment stage by giving a fair idea about the person. Even though it not foolproof, as the subjects can manipulate it. But, most times it gives a fair idea of the subject, suitability for the job and whether he/she can function without dominance on his/her part, and thereby reduce mobbing. Conclusion: Evaluation of data and practical application The evaluation of the data, after the test on the subject will give a clear idea on the mental state of the worker and whether they are mentally qualified to function in the workforce. And it is valuable information because physical tests are the only tests, which are carried out often. But, actually the part that controls that physical body is ignored. But, as the mental part is the king of all actions, its analysis will be very useful in eradicating the mind-initiated act of mobbing. Already many organizations have made this kind of test as part of their policy and have been conducting it consistently. So, the practical application of these studies is already visible and it can expanded to new organizations as well as new sectors. And if this is done, the evil of mobbing could be curtailed and even weeded out by finding and removing the persons or workers responsible for that. References Davenport, Noa, Elliott, Gail P, Schwartz, Ruth D.. 1999. Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace. Martin, Brian. 1999. Whistle blowing and Nonviolence. Peace and Change, Vol.24, No. 3, January 1999. Leymann, Heinz (1994). Bullying and mobbing (Part 2). Internet. Available from http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3636/is_200410/ai_n9443400 accessed 02 February 2007. Shilba, Big. Blogthings - Whats Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?. Internet. Available from www.blogthings.com/whatsyoureqquiz accessed 03 February 2007. Westhues, Kenneth. 2002. Mobbing and Multi stalker harassment in Australia. Internet. Available from http:// members.iinet.net.au/~rabbit/stalky.htm ; accessed 04 February 2007 Zucke, Herr. Mobbing in the Workplace: An Article about Bullying at Work. Internet. Available from http:// www.law-office.demon.co.uk/art%20mobbing-1; accessed 02 February 2007 Read More