In recent years the word “mobbing” has been used with an increasingly high frequency, even in lawsuits. But what exactly does “mobbing” mean? The answer is not as clear-cut as one might think, for it designates a multi-faceted phenomenon. It’s a violation of civil rights, but also an intrinsic feature of organized work. It’s a threat to the satisfactory performance of organizations, which may be encouraged by some management styles. Its consequences impact individuals, whereas the mechanisms that activate it are collective. It rarely produces extremely serious effects, but it can hurt people very deeply. Those who have power more easily resort to it, and yet false accusations of mobbing are themselves a strong mobbing weapon. This book uses case histories, true stories and examples drawn from motion pictures in order to provide a comprehensive overview of mobbing.

Dina Guglielmi teaches Psychology of Labour and Guidance Psychology at the University of Bologna.