Bullying colleagues at work happens not only among white collar workers. If a person is a threat to someone he or she can become a target of humiliation and exclusion in any professional environment. According to a sociologist, Mr Kenneth Westhues, the academic world is a perfect “petri dish” for the culture of mobbing. He points to several reasons, namely high job security, subjective measures of performance, and frequent tension among the goals of professors and the goals of the institution. He adds that academics believe they are immune to the problem.
Jerry Becker is a 69-year-old professor of mathematics at an American university.
He is a workaholic and in 27 years has never taken a sabbatical leave. His performance is highly regarded by his superiors and students. In November 2003, 15 of Mr. Becker's colleagues signed a 12-page complaint against him calling him "toxic" to the work environment. Mr. Becker spent the next two months writing a point-by-point rebuttal. He was cleared of all charges. His colleagues, however, did not give up and submitted yet another complaint, this one containing charges of sexual harassment. Once again, Mr. Becker was cleared of the charges. Despite that, his office was moved far from his fellow professors to a part of campus where no one worked.
Anything can be the source of envy; success and excellence, wit and eloquence, money and family background. Mobbing in the Academe is nonviolent, at times sophisticated, its main goal to wear the target down emotionally. That is why it is considered a workplace pathology.
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