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Mobbing At the University of California
By Leuren Moret, Past President, Association for Women
Geoscientists
-leurenmoret@yahoo.com-
Definitions from:www.bullybusters.org
Workplace Aggression: Efforts by individuals to harm others with
whom they
work, or have worked, or the organizations in which they are presently, or
were
previously, employed. In accordance with the broader definition of human
aggression, it involves acts of intentional harm. Workplace Aggression is
distinguished from workplace violence that includes physical assaults and
homicide.
(Dr. Joel Neumann)
Bullying: The Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union, has
identified workplace bullying as:
Persistent, offensive, abusive, intimidating, malicious or insulting
behavior, abuse of
power or unfair penal sanctions which make the recipient feel upset,
threatened,
humiliated, or vulnerable, which undermines their self confidence and
which may
cause them to suffer stress. (Andy Ellis, UK)
Workplace Mobbing: Psychological terror or mobbing in working life
involves hostile and unethical communication which is directed in a
systematic
manner by one or more individuals, mainly toward one individual, who, due
to
mobbing, is pushed into a helpless and defenseless position and held there
by means
of continuing mobbing activities. These actions occur on a very frequent
basis
(statistical definition: at least once a week) and over a long period of
time (statistical
definition: at least six months duration). Because of the high frequency
and long
duration of hostile behavior, this maltreatment results in considerable
mental,
psychosomatic and social misery. (Heinz Leymann, Ph.D., M.D., Sweden)
Recently, I contacted Dr. Nicole Rafter raftern@badger. jsc.vsc.edu, who is writing a book on
mobbing (Fall 1996 Newsletter). After
relating
my experiences with the University of California (UCD, UCB, and LLNL)
during the
past three years, which I had been unable to explain to myself, she
described the
mobbing phenomenon and gave me many resources for information.
After investigating these resources, I believe the cases presented in the
WAGE
Newsletters demonstrate a pervasive, systemic organizational pattern of
mobbing/bullying within the entire UC System. Their use of psychological
terrorization against targets who dissent, their supporters, and
whistleblowers, is
vicious workplace abuse, workplace aggression, workplace mobbing.
The mobbing and bullying phenomena were first isolated and
identified twenty
years ago by a Swedish M.D., Heinz Leymann, who was primarily concerned
with the
impact of mobbing on the target in terms of medical stress (post-traumatic
stress
disorder). His website, The Mobbing Encyclopaedia www.leymann.se , presents all the faces
of
mobbing. He provides case studies, statistics, definitions of all aspects
of mobbing,
surveys of the degree of organizational terror, and invaluable global
links to other
experts and resources.
Although mobbing has had little recognition in the U.S., in
1976 Dr.
Carroll Brodsky wrote, The Harrassed Worker, based on claims filed
with the
California Workers Compensation Appeals Board and the Nevada Industrial
Commission. In this book mobbing/bullying was not yet distinguished as a
different
phenomenon. It is still relatively unrecognized in the US and public
awareness is very
low.
Recently, I spoke with Noa Davenport, Ph.D., co-author of a new
self-help book:
Mobbing: Emotional Abuse in the American Workplace. The co-authors
wrote
the book after experiencing mobbing in the workplace, but were unable to
define or
identify it until Noa Davenport visited her native Switzerland, where
friends said it
was well recognized in Europe. Their book describes the nature of the
mobbing
phenomenon, mobbing behaviors and how they evolve, how to cope with and
prevent
mobbing, mobbing and the Law, and societal awareness of mobbing. Mobbing
is a
very complex issue involving power and control, dissent, narcissism, and
the ancient
roots of malice.
Dr. Gary Namie (social-organizational psychologist, and former
academic) and
Dr. Ruth Namie (therapist) have mounted a global campaign against bullying
in the
workplace on their BULLYBUSTERS website www.bullybusters.org. They have
co-
authored a book: Bullyproof Yourself at Work, providing guidelines
on how to
handle one-on-one abuse. They have an excellent Bookstore on their
website with
book reviews of most of the books mentioned here.
Work Abuse: How to Recognize and Survive It by San
Francisco
therapists, Judith Wyatt and Chauncey Hare, is an excellent guide on how
to work
within a system by understanding how it functions and adapting behaviors
for
personal success. Chauncey Hare said that mobbing is widespread in
corporate
America as well as universities, and is used by upper levels to distract
from the
ruthless, illegal, criminal and immoral activities they engage in to gain
control and
silence dissent. Having worked in the field for over 40 years, he reads
Ghandi every
day to remain in a peaceful state. He emphasized that the systems
approach is
necessary to work towards changing the mobbing phenomenon. The scope of
mobbing/bullying is much greater than the individuals or groups who become
targets. The damage affects not only the targets; the institution where
it occurs is
progressively damaged as the mobbing practices spread like a cancer.
Mobbing and Whistleblowing go hand-in-hand and the WHISTLEBLOWING
website of Brian Martin at the University of Wollongong, Australia
www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent, is an excellent resource for
information on dissent and social control. Martin has an excellent review
of Wyatt
and Hares book.
Three other books were invaluable to me in gathering information
that enabled
me to depersonalize and cope with the abuse directed at me. My real
healing began
when I started to garden and watch nature at work. There are no power
issues in
nature, and time in the garden allowed me to regain myself and a sense of
control.
Many people who are mobbed are so devastated emotionally that their
intellectual
abilities are seriously impacted or destroyed.
Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ, by Daniel
Goleman,
describes how the brain works and the process by which the intellect is
emotionally
hijacked by emotions of fear and anger, which are triggered by the
harasser.
Emotional hijacking is a major contributor to the damage and misery which
targets of
mobbing/bullying suffer in the family, in the workplace, and is a major
strategy used
by lawyers to overwhelm their opponents in the courtroom.
Narcissism: Denial of the True Self, by Alexander Lowen, M.D.,
describes the
narcissistic individual in all gradations, his denial of his own feelings,
and his need to
seek power and control at all costs. Lowen describes the narcissistic
society we have
become during the past thirty years. He also explains that people who
seek and hold
power today are often mediocre individuals, as we have recognized (but did
not
expect) in dealing with U.C. administrators.
The Tyranny of Malice, by Joseph Berke, describes the expression of
malice
and evil through thousands of years, and in many cultures. It also
describes it on an
individual level, in families, organizations, nations, and globally.
No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in
America,
by Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith, provides the blueprint for the methods
and
ruthlessness of corporate lawyers, which many fighting the UC
Corporation
with lawsuits have experienced. They explain the perversion of justice and
the
brutality of the process used against an individual seeking justice from
an unjust
giant. This is recommended reading for anyone involved in, or considering
legal
remedies against a powerful institution. The authors blame Corporate
lawyers as
major contributors to the loss of justice in the courts nationwide.
Noa Davenport highly recommended a book by a Canadian Sociologist,
Eliminating
Professors: A Guide to the Dismissal Process, by Canadian sociologist
Ken
Westhues. A somewhat tongue-in-cheek book on academic mobbing, she says,
it
is wonderfully written, and very, very intelligent. Anyone who has
observed or
experienced it (and who in academia hasnt), will enjoy the honesty about
the
brutality!
A new release on whistleblowing is in the theatres:
The Insiders
starring
Al Pacino, is an expose of the Tobacco industry, and reveals the methods
used to
silence dissenters. A chilling film on mobbing by the government
including high tech
methods, Enemy of the
State,
stars Gene Hackman.
As I researched and talked to authors and U.C. associates, the
scope of mobbing
and bullying - within and beyond the UC system seemed overwhelming. I have
tried to
provide an overview, as well as information and resources, to increase
awareness and
provide a perspective to those who are caught in their own struggles to
make sense of
this process.
-wage@wage.org-