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The Mobbed at Work Library
Clear guidance for difficult workplace experiences. Start with the question that feels closest to what you are facing right now.
Featured guides
Recently updated
Supporting a Partner or Friend Through Workplace Harm
Being the primary support person for someone facing workplace mobbing is a heavy role. Learn how to validate their reality, hold space instead of fixing, relieve the daily load, and set boundaries that protect you both from burnout.
8 min readFor Friends and FamilyWhat Not to Say to Someone Going Through a Difficult Workplace Experience
Well-meaning comfort can deepen the wound when someone faces workplace mobbing. Learn the five phrases to avoid, a "say this, not that" guide, and three ways to offer real support to a friend, partner, or family member.
7 min readFor Managers and LeadersBuilding a More Mobbing-Resistant Workplace
Mobbing isn't caused by missing policies; it's caused by culture. Learn the four systemic vulnerabilities and four structural pillars, plus a manager's self-audit checklist, that make collective bullying impossible to sustain.
8 min readStart here
The first articles to read if you're new to all of this.
How to Write Down What Happened at Work
"Document everything" only works if you know how. Learn the facts-vs-feelings rule, the six essential elements of a strong incident entry, and where to safely keep your records.
9 min readUnderstandWhat Does Workplace Exclusion Look Like?
Workplace exclusion is quiet: missed invites, withheld information, and a slow social freeze. Learn to spot the two faces of exclusion, why it's so destructive, and how to protect yourself with a clean paper trail.
7 min readUnderstandWhat Is Workplace Mobbing?
Workplace mobbing is a group-driven dynamic where colleagues, managers, and systems collectively isolate and push out an employee. Learn how it unfolds, who gets targeted, and what it does to your health.
6 min readIf work is affecting your health
Guidance for when your sleep, focus, or body are carrying the strain.
Before you talk to HR
Ways to prepare before you raise something at work or get professional advice.
Before You Talk to HR
HR works for the organization, not for you. Before reporting mobbing, back up your evidence, frame it as policy violations, know what outcome you want, and follow up in writing.
8 min readGet SupportHow a Union Representative Can Help
A union steward can enforce your collective agreement, sit in on disciplinary meetings, file grievances, and help with medical leave. Here's how to prepare and what to do if the mobbers are in the union too.
8 min readProtectHow to Keep Conversations Work-Focused
When colleagues bait you with personal attacks and vague accusations, stay boring, brief, and work-focused. Learn the pivots and phrases that defuse hostility and protect your reputation.
8 min readFor bystanders and leaders
How to notice harm and respond well when you're not the target.
Building a More Mobbing-Resistant Workplace
Mobbing isn't caused by missing policies; it's caused by culture. Learn the four systemic vulnerabilities and four structural pillars, plus a manager's self-audit checklist, that make collective bullying impossible to sustain.
8 min readFor Managers and LeadersHow Managers Can Avoid Hearsay-Driven Decisions
Informal complaints and whisper networks are the primary tools of workplace mobbing. Learn a four-step fact-checking workflow and ready-to-use questions that help managers separate office gossip from verified facts.
9 min readFor Friends and FamilySupporting a Partner or Friend Through Workplace Harm
Being the primary support person for someone facing workplace mobbing is a heavy role. Learn how to validate their reality, hold space instead of fixing, relieve the daily load, and set boundaries that protect you both from burnout.
8 min readPractical tools and worksheets
Quiet tools you can use right now. Nothing you type is stored on our servers.
Write down what happened
A private, in-browser template for incident notes. Nothing is saved on our servers.
Two-minute reset
A short exercise to steady yourself after a hard workplace moment.
Workplace scenarios
Common situations, with calm ways to think each one through.
Recovery guide
A gentle, guided path for rebuilding after workplace harm.
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We're carefully reviewing the first professional and lived-experience contributions. If you'd like to add your perspective, we'd be glad to read it.
Source and review standards
Every article is written in plain language, checked against original sources, and labelled with the dates it was published and last reviewed. High-risk topics, like legal, HR, benefits, and health content, get extra expert or official-source review before publication, and they're reviewed again on a shorter cycle.
Read our editorial standardsAll articles (24)
Before You Talk to HR
HR works for the organization, not for you. Before reporting mobbing, back up your evidence, frame it as policy violations, know what outcome you want, and follow up in writing.
8 min readFor Managers and LeadersBuilding a More Mobbing-Resistant Workplace
Mobbing isn't caused by missing policies; it's caused by culture. Learn the four systemic vulnerabilities and four structural pillars, plus a manager's self-audit checklist, that make collective bullying impossible to sustain.
8 min readUnderstandDigital Exclusion: Being Left Out of Chats, Meetings, and Decisions
Being cut out of Slack channels, calendar invites, and shared files is a modern form of workplace mobbing. Learn what digital exclusion looks like and how to document it.
8 min readFor Managers and LeadersHow Managers Can Avoid Hearsay-Driven Decisions
Informal complaints and whisper networks are the primary tools of workplace mobbing. Learn a four-step fact-checking workflow and ready-to-use questions that help managers separate office gossip from verified facts.
9 min readGet SupportHow a Union Representative Can Help
A union steward can enforce your collective agreement, sit in on disciplinary meetings, file grievances, and help with medical leave. Here's how to prepare and what to do if the mobbers are in the union too.
8 min readProtectHow to Ask for Clear Feedback at Work
Vague feedback like "it needs more polish" sets you up to fail. Learn four questions to turn fuzzy critiques into concrete standards, plus email templates that lock expectations into writing.
8 min readProtectHow to Keep Conversations Work-Focused
When colleagues bait you with personal attacks and vague accusations, stay boring, brief, and work-focused. Learn the pivots and phrases that defuse hostility and protect your reputation.
8 min readProtectHow to Prepare for a Difficult Meeting
A vague "quick check-in" invite can be a trap. Learn how to demand an agenda, organize evidence, steady your nerves, take control in the room, and follow up in writing.
8 min readProtectHow to Write Down What Happened at Work
"Document everything" only works if you know how. Learn the facts-vs-feelings rule, the six essential elements of a strong incident entry, and where to safely keep your records.
9 min readUnderstandIs This Conflict, Poor Management, or a Harmful Pattern?
Is it a personality clash, a disorganized boss, or a targeted campaign? Learn to tell ordinary conflict, poor management, and a mobbing pattern apart, and why the difference matters.
8 min readUnderstandLateral Violence and Horizontal Hostility at Work
Hostility at work often comes sideways from peers, not just from the top. Learn what lateral violence looks like, why peers turn on each other, and how to set boundaries that protect your work and energy.
7 min readUnderstandScapegoating at Work: What It Can Look Like
In dysfunctional teams, one person often carries the blame for systemic failures. Learn how workplace scapegoating works, why strong employees get chosen as targets, and how to protect yourself.
7 min readFor Friends and FamilySupporting a Partner or Friend Through Workplace Harm
Being the primary support person for someone facing workplace mobbing is a heavy role. Learn how to validate their reality, hold space instead of fixing, relieve the daily load, and set boundaries that protect you both from burnout.
8 min readUnderstandWhat Does Workplace Exclusion Look Like?
Workplace exclusion is quiet: missed invites, withheld information, and a slow social freeze. Learn to spot the two faces of exclusion, why it's so destructive, and how to protect yourself with a clean paper trail.
7 min readUnderstandWhat Is Workplace Mobbing?
Workplace mobbing is a group-driven dynamic where colleagues, managers, and systems collectively isolate and push out an employee. Learn how it unfolds, who gets targeted, and what it does to your health.
6 min readFor Friends and FamilyWhat Not to Say to Someone Going Through a Difficult Workplace Experience
Well-meaning comfort can deepen the wound when someone faces workplace mobbing. Learn the five phrases to avoid, a "say this, not that" guide, and three ways to offer real support to a friend, partner, or family member.
7 min readStabilizeWhat to Do After a Difficult Meeting
What you do in the first two hours after a hostile meeting matters for both your health and your paper trail. A four-phase plan: steady your body, capture raw facts, send a summary email, and decompress safely.
7 min readProtectWhat to Say When Feedback Becomes Personal
When criticism shifts from your work to your character, don't defend yourself, ask for facts. Word-for-word scripts for handling "attitude problem," "culture fit," and other personal critiques.
7 min readFor Managers and LeadersWhen Someone Brings You a Concern: A Manager's First Response
How a manager responds in the first five minutes of a workplace complaint sets the trajectory for everything after. Learn the four common mistakes to avoid, a four-stage intake framework, and word-for-word language for a calm, fair first response.
8 min readUnderstandWhen a Story About You Starts at Work
Workplace mobbing usually begins with a quiet story circulating behind your back. Learn how whisper campaigns start and spread, why over-explaining backfires, and how to protect your footing when a false narrative takes hold.
6 min readUnderstandWhy Group Complaints Need Careful Review
A group complaint isn't automatically proof of guilt, it can be the final stage of workplace mobbing. Learn how manufactured consensus works, the red flags to look for, and how HR should investigate fairly.
8 min readUnderstandWhy Workplace Mobbing Can Feel So Political
Mobbing is rarely about performance, it's about power and self-preservation. Learn why organizations protect the mob and how to navigate the politics without losing yourself.
8 min readStabilizeWhy a Difficult Workplace Can Follow You Home
Work stress doesn't stay at work. Understand the biology of hypervigilance and rumination, and learn four practical ways to reclaim your evenings and your home as a sanctuary.
8 min readUnderstandWorkplace Mobbing vs. Bullying: What Is the Difference?
Bullying is usually one person; mobbing is a group campaign backed by the organization itself. Learn the key differences and why the distinction shapes your recovery strategy.
7 min read