Signs of Mobbing at Work: A Guide for Employees Experiencing Workplace Bullying

What are the signs of mobbing and how do you know if you are bullied at work? A guide to documenting events, where to apply and protecting your mental health.

A knot in your stomach every morning on the way to work, not being given the floor in meetings, being criticised constantly, important emails not being passed on to you, or colleagues suddenly stopping talking to you... If you are going through these things, it is entirely natural to wonder, "Am I exaggerating?" The signs of mobbing often appear gradually, and a person may find it hard to put a name to what they are going through. This article has been prepared for employees who think they are being subjected to psychological harassment at work. We will look at what mobbing is, how it can be recognised, its effects on mental health, the steps you can take to protect yourself, and the routes available to you in Turkey.

What Is Mobbing? Psychological Harassment at Work

Mobbing is when one or more people in the workplace target an employee with behaviour that is systematic, ongoing and deliberate, and that aims to intimidate, exclude, humiliate or push that person out of work. In Turkish it is usually expressed as "iş yerinde psikolojik taciz" (psychological harassment at work) or "yıldırma" (wearing down).

The key features that distinguish mobbing from a one-off conflict or a harsh criticism are as follows:

• Continuity and repetition: The behaviours are repeated over a period of time, not just once.
• Systematic nature: The behaviours are not random; they follow a pattern and often escalate.
• Targeting: A specific person or persons are singled out.
• Power imbalance: The targeted person finds it hard to defend themselves; this difference in power may be hierarchical, but it may also be social or numerical.
• Causing harm: The behaviours harm the person's mental health, professional reputation and working life.

Mobbing often begins insidiously. In the early stages there may be small exclusions, barbed jokes or an unexplained coldness. The person may dismiss these as unimportant or think they have misunderstood. Over time the behaviours become more frequent and more obvious, and settle at the centre of the person's working life. For this reason, noticing the early signs helps to address the process before it becomes more serious.

Mobbing can be directed from the top down (from manager to employee), horizontally (between colleagues at the same level) or from the bottom up (from employees towards a manager).

What Are the Signs of Mobbing?

Mobbing behaviours can take different forms. The signs below can help you assess what you are experiencing at work. A single behaviour on its own may not amount to mobbing; what matters is whether these behaviours are ongoing and systematic.

Blocking communication

• Being constantly interrupted, your views being ignored in meetings,
• Being shouted at, scolded or criticised in front of others,
• Verbal or written threats,
• Your greetings and questions being left unanswered.

Attacks on social relationships

• Your colleagues being prevented from talking to you,
• Being excluded from shared activities, meals or messaging groups,
• Being placed physically apart from everyone else,
• Being treated as if you were not there.

Damage to professional reputation

• Gossip and baseless rumours being spread about you,
• Your personal characteristics, appearance or private life being mocked,
• Your work being constantly belittled or credited to someone else,
• Your decisions being questioned all the time.

Attacks on the nature of your work

• Being given no work at all, or being given meaningless tasks far below your qualifications,
• Being loaded with an excessive workload on impossible deadlines,
• Being denied the information and tools you need to do your job,
• Your job description being changed constantly and without justification.

Behaviours that threaten health

• Being forced into work that could harm your health,
• Threats of physical violence, or physical violence itself,
• Harassment of a sexual nature.

How Does Mobbing Affect Mental Health?

Mobbing can deeply affect not only a person's working life but also their mental health, physical health and private life. The reactions commonly seen in people exposed to mobbing are:

• Anxiety and tension: Intense anxiety before going to work, restlessness that starts on Sunday evenings, a constant state of being on alert.
• Sleep problems: Being unable to fall asleep, waking in the night, replaying events at work over and over in the mind.
• Depressive feelings: Hopelessness, worthlessness, lack of motivation, being unable to enjoy things.
• Loss of self-confidence: The thought "Maybe I really am inadequate", doubting your own abilities.
• Physical symptoms: Headaches, stomach and bowel problems, muscle tension, getting ill often.
• Anger and helplessness: A feeling of being wronged, and anger at being unable to change the situation.
• Social withdrawal: Moving away from family and friends, avoiding talking about what has happened.
• Burnout: Long-term mobbing can lead to deep emotional and physical exhaustion. You can look at our article on burnout syndrome on this subject.

These reactions are understandable responses to a constantly threatening environment, and they do not mean that you are weak or inadequate.

Being the target of mobbing does not mean you have a shortcoming; more often than not, the problem lies in the work environment that allows these behaviours.

The Difference Between Signs of Mobbing and Normal Work Stress

Not every workplace disagreement or every harsh criticism is mobbing. Making this distinction helps you both to assess your situation correctly and to take the right steps.

• One-off conflicts: A heated argument in a meeting, or an unfair criticism made once, is not mobbing on its own, however upsetting it may be.
• Constructive criticism: Concrete, respectful, development-oriented feedback about your performance is part of a manager's job.
• A busy work pace: Busy periods or high targets that apply to the whole team may create stress, but they are not mobbing if they do not single out one particular person.
• Mobbing: Behaviours that target a particular person, that are systematic, repeated and aimed at wearing them down.

If you are not sure which group what you are experiencing falls into, it can help to document events and assess them with a specialist or a lawyer.

What Can You Do If You Are Being Mobbed?

Being exposed to mobbing can create a sense of helplessness, but there are steps you can take both to protect yourself and to seek your rights.

Document what you are experiencing

• Note down each incident with the date, time, place, who was present and what happened.
• Keep emails, messages and written instructions in a safe place.
• Note down the colleagues who witnessed events.
• Keep your health appointments and any medical reports.

Records kept regularly help you see the situation more clearly and set out what you have experienced in any possible application process.

Consider the options within the workplace

• You can apply in writing to the HR department, the ethics board or, if there is one, any internal complaints mechanism for mobbing.
• You can consider raising the matter with a senior manager you trust.
• If you have one, you can ask your union representative for support.

For information on employers' obligations to protect employees from psychological harassment, you can look at our article on mobbing at work and employer obligations.

Learn about external routes

• ALO 170 (the hotline of Turkey's Ministry of Labour and Social Security): Through this line you can get information about working life and ask for guidance.
• Legal support: In Turkey, mobbing can be assessed within the framework of labour law and the law of obligations. To learn about your rights and the routes open to you, it is recommended that you consult a lawyer who works in labour law, or the legal aid offices of the bar associations.
• Public employees: In addition to internal application routes, there are possibilities to apply to the relevant inspection bodies; getting support from a lawyer for the details is useful.

Before starting any legal process, it is important not to make hasty decisions, and in particular to get legal advice before taking steps that are hard to reverse, such as resigning.

Things to bear in mind when communicating with the person mobbing you

Talking face to face with the person who is mobbing you may not always be possible or safe. If you decide to talk, it may be more protective to do so at a calm moment, if possible in writing or somewhere a witness is present. Rather than giving emotional reactions, try to state concrete behaviours and how they affect you, briefly and clearly: for example, "I don't want to be interrupted in meetings," or "I would like the information about this task to be passed on to me as well."

It is also important not to respond to provocative behaviour. In a mobbing process, the anger of the targeted person is sometimes used as a basis for portraying them as a "problem employee". For this reason, sharing your strong emotions outside work with people you trust or with a specialist, and trying to stay as calm as possible and on the record at work, will protect you.

Protect your mental health

• Set a boundary between work and private life. Try not to check work emails and messages outside working hours.
• Do not stay alone. Share what you are going through with your family, your friends or colleagues you trust.
• Take good care of your body. Regular sleep, movement and nutrition support your capacity to cope with stress.
• Remember your own worth. Mobbing behaviours can lead a person to doubt their own abilities. It can help to remember past achievements, the people who have given you positive feedback and your strengths.
• Build sources of meaning outside work. Hobbies, social relationships and activities that make you feel good prevent your identity from being defined only by experiences at work.

Say an employee is constantly humiliated in meetings after a new manager arrives, is removed from important projects, and colleagues begin to keep their distance. For months they think, "Maybe I'm the one making mistakes," and their sleep suffers. When they start to note down what is happening, they see the pattern more clearly, consult a lawyer, and begin to pull themselves together with psychological support. This fictional example shows that documenting and getting support can reduce the sense of helplessness.

When Should You Seek Professional Support?

When the effects of mobbing on your mental health become more serious, it is important to get support from a mental health professional. You should not delay, especially in the following situations:

• If your sleep, appetite and energy have been disrupted for a long time,
• If even thinking about going to work creates intense anxiety or panic,
• If you feel hopeless, worthless or helpless,
• If what you are experiencing is affecting your family and social relationships,
• If you often have physical complaints,
• If you are struggling to decide whether to leave your job or stay.

If there are marked symptoms of depression or anxiety, an assessment by a psychiatrist may also be useful. If you have thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life, call 112 (emergency services) without losing time.

How Is the Experience of Mobbing Addressed in Therapy?

Psychotherapy offers an important space for working with the emotional marks mobbing leaves behind and for regaining strength. Therapy is not a substitute for legal processes, but during this process it can help a person protect their mental health and make healthier decisions.

In the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) process:

• Thoughts that grow stronger during mobbing, such as "I'm inadequate", "Everything is my fault" or "I can't succeed anywhere", are noticed and questioned,
• Skills for coping with anxiety, anger and helplessness are developed,
• Work is done on setting boundaries, self-expression and communication skills,
• Strategies for coping with sleep, stress and physical symptoms are identified,
• Decisions such as staying in or leaving the job are considered on a calmer and more conscious footing.

In some people, the experience of mobbing can also activate past experiences of exclusion, criticism or worthlessness. In this case, understanding early schemas can help the person grasp their present reactions better and be kinder to themselves.

As needed, the therapy process can be carried out as individual therapy, face to face or online. Online sessions can make it easier to get support within a busy work schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you recognise the signs of mobbing?

The signs of mobbing are behaviours such as constant and systematic exclusion, humiliation, blocking of communication, damage to professional reputation and attacks on the nature of your work. What matters is that these behaviours are not one-off but form a repeated pattern that targets a particular person.

How can I prove that I am being mobbed?

It is important to note events regularly with dates, times and witness details, to keep emails and messages, and to document your medical appointments. To assess which documents and routes are right for you, it is recommended that you consult a labour law lawyer.

Should I resign because of mobbing?

It is important not to rush this decision. Before resigning, always get legal advice to learn your rights. If your mental health is seriously affected, it may also help to weigh up this decision together with a mental health professional.

What is the use of calling ALO 170?

ALO 170 is the hotline of Turkey's Ministry of Labour and Social Security. You can call it to get information about your rights in working life and to find out which institutions you can apply to.

• #mobbing
• #workplace
• #workplace bullying
• #employee rights
• #ALO 170

Yazar

Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

Eğitimler