ANTI-MOBBING HELP FOR SCIENTISTS

Say NO to Academic Mobbing & Stalking and Scientific Misconduct!

Introduction

Academic mobbing over a number of months or even years is the most prominent type of bullying in academia and a well-studied research subject in psychology and medicine. It is frequent cause of psychological or physical violence conducted by a group of colleagues or by an individual such as the boss. A brief two-page introduction and definition is given below.

Mobbing & bullying (and stalking) are directed against the victim with a conscious desire to hurt, threaten, or frighten. This puts the victim under immense stress and causes serious illnesses, which might eventually result in work incapacity and even in death (suicide). Since the occurrence of workplace mobbing has been shown to be primarily an important employer’s problem, it already forms explicit part of worker protection laws and criminal law in many countries worldwide (e.g. Austria (particularly cyber-mobbing), Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Canada, and USA).

Mobbing as "downward bullying" by superiors is also known as "bossing" and "upward bullying" by colleagues as "staffing" in some European countries. (Note that the terms "mobbing" and "bullying" are used synonymously in English.)

Mobbing at academic institutions and universities including medical clinics is known as being more subtle than usual and might even go beyond the particular organization, giving rise to a national and international level of bullying by colleagues. Workplace mobbing also involves an enormous waste of talent, time and money, which would be preventable by structural improvements in organizations. 

A number of mobbing indicators and questionnaires are available to determine the presence and extent of bullying, see below. For instance, mobbing victims may be the target of unwanted physical contact, violence, obscene or loud language during meetings, be disparaged among their colleagues in venues they are not aware of, confronted with undue demands for compliance with regulations, excluded from relevant meetings, research and work tasks, and face difficulties with promotion and tenure.

The organizational structure of academic institutions often make it hard for victims to seek help internally, and appeals to external authorities can be surprisingly counterproductive. Therefore, academics who are subject to bullying are often overly cautious about reporting any problems and asking for mitigation instead of contacting colleagues, other victims, mobbing helplines, antidiscrimination bodies, lawyers, and medical psychologists.

Read the Brief Two-Page Introduction to Academic Mobbing by the Canadian expert Prof. Dr. Kenneth Westhues in Academic Matters:
Download PDF (read pages 18-19): http://www.academicmatters.ca/assets/AM-Fall-2006-Issue.pdf
Read PDF online (go to pages 15-16 to read page 18-19): http://www.academicmatters.ca/assets/AM-Fall-2006-Issue.pdf

Two short, but helpful, Academic Mobbing articles are by the Austrian expert Prof. Dr. Rotraud A. Perner in the Austrian Standard:
https://derstandard.at/1363710905985/Mobbing-Universitaere-Ressourcenvernichtung [EN]
https://derstandard.at/1361241073629/Psychische-Gesundheit-als-Fuersorgepflicht-des-Arbeitgebers-Universitaet [EN]

Mobbing Indicators (questionnaires and check lists):
- Negative acts questionnaire (NAQ) of 22 mobbing actions
- Westhues check list (WAMI) of 16 mobbing actions
- Leymann questionnaire (LIPT) of 45 mobbing actions in three languages: EN, DE, FR
- Wolmerarth & Ess catalog (WEC) of 100 mobbing actions (in German)

Wikipedia Articles:
Workplace bullying in academia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying_in_academia
Workplace bullying: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying
Bullying in medicine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying_in_medicine
Psychopathy in the workplace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_in_the_workplace
Legal aspects of workplace bullying: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_aspects_of_workplace_bullying

Bullying: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying
Mobbing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobbing
Stalking: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalking

Scientific misconduct: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_misconduct
Academic dishonesty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_dishonesty

Recent Cases of Academic Mobbing/Bossing and Stalking:

Antimobbing Video Information:
Selected Antimobbing Videos
The Anatomy of an Academic Mobbing

The Mobbing Portal:
http://www.mobbingportal.com
http://www.mobbingportal.com/friedenberg-hh.html
http://www.mobbingportal.com/questionmobbingorbullying.html

Mobbing Information and books by Prof. Dr. Kenneth Westhues:
- Academic Mobbing Information: http://www.kwesthues.com/mobbing.htm
- Further Work and Books about Mobbing (as listed below): http://www.kwesthues.com/mobbingbooks.html
- "The Unkindly Art of Mobbing": http://www.kwesthues.com/unkindlyart.htm
- "Eliminating Professors - A Guide to the Dismissal Process": http://www.kwesthues.com/elimprof.htm
- "Workplace Mobbing in Academe - Reports from Twenty Universities": http://www.kwesthues.com/workplmob.htm
- "The Envy of Excellence - Administrative Mobbing of High-Achieving Professors": http://www.kwesthues.com/envyexc.htm
- "The Remedy and Prevention of Mobbing in Higher Education - Two Case Studies": http://www.kwesthues.com/dialogon.htm
- "Targets of Annoyed Capitalists": http://www.kwesthues.com/criticscorp.htm
- "The Anatomy of an Academic Mobbing": http://www.kwesthues.com/frieden-hh.htm
- "Mobbing as a Factor in Faculty Work Life": http://www.kwesthues.com/AAUP09.htm

The Mobbing Encyclopaedia by Prof. Dr. Heinz Leymann:
http://www.leymann.se/

Workplace Bullying Institute:
http://www.workplacebullying.org/
http://www.workplacebullying.org/talk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5lvyopCAr4

Workplace Bullying and Mobbing:
Bullying at work: https://osha.europa.eu/en/publications/factsheets/23/view
Workplace mobbing: http://www.mobbing.ca
Overcome bullying: http://www.overcomebullying.org/
Tactics against bullying at work: http://www.bmartin.cc/pubs/07bullying.html
Mobbees united: http://www.mobbeesunited.com/

Tim Field Foundation Information:
http://www.bullyonline.org/
http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/amibeing.htm
http://timfieldfoundation.org/

Bullied Academics:
Bullying of academics in higher education: http://bulliedacademics.blogspot.com/
Institutional bullying: http://bulliedacademics.blogspot.com/2008/09/what-is-corporateinstitutional-bullying.html
Death in academia and the mis-measurement of science: http://www.euroscientist.com/death-academia-mis-measurement-science/
Mobbing can damage more than careers: http://chronicle.com/article/Mobbing-Can-Damage-More/47736
Physical and psychological abuse in Canadian operating rooms: http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1007/s12630-016-0777-9

Facebook Group for Workplace Bullying in Higher Education: https://www.facebook.com/groups/295040946478/
Yahoo Group for Bullied Academics: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bullied_academics/info

Abuse Wiki:
http://abuse.wikia.com/wiki/Abuse_Wiki
http://abuse.wikia.com/wiki/Kenneth_Westhues

Critical Mass:
http://www.erinoconnor.org/archives/2008/10/how_it_really_w.html
http://www.erinoconnor.org/archives/2009/05/anatomy_of_an_a.html

Minding the Workplace:
https://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/workplace-bullying-and-mobbing-in-academe-the-hell-of-heaven/
https://newworkplace.wordpress.com/2010/02/09/tenure-decisions-and-bullying-in-academe/

International Whistleblowing Research Network:
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/about-us/our-people/staff-directory/lewis-david
http://www.mdx.ac.uk/our-research/research-groups/whistleblowing-research-unit

Impressum (2017): Albrecht, 92665 Altenstadt, Germany.