Anyone Else Experience Mobbing?

[WeakAnkles]

Hi~

I have been at my new job for over a year now and have become the victim of mobbing by my peers in the ICU where I work.

I have tried every approach with this but nothing has helped my situation. I am going to have to leave this job for it to end.

It has caused me to become depressed, anxious at times, and I have gained weight.

I have also seen mobbing occur at other units where I have worked. I am wondering how prevalent this is now among nurses.

[linzz]

I do wish for the day that mobbing ends, esp. to new nurses. I think it just makes those that do it look very unprofessional and from a patient's point of view, I doubt that mobbing helps raise the SOC muc.

[Nurseynurseyme]

You know that is the sad thing, management KNOWS it goes on 9/10 times and does NOTHING! They know it is one person where I am at, continues to mob the new folks or even a few older ones and you watch and see it happen again and again and again. But management is"What do you want me to do?"

FIRE THAT PERSON! Do your JOB.:angryfire

I have a friend who graduated RN school with me and she was routed out of a department as a new grad. She just took it, but was back in the facility some time later to pick up her check and she ran into the CEO of the facility--who was a personal friend. This is a small town.

The CEO asked her how she was and commented she hadn't been seen around in a while, and she volunteered that she had been let go.

They had a meeting in which she was told "Have you heard that nurses eat their young?" So, yes they know about it and I guess it's a given, and they don't do anything about it.

She wound up getting rehired on another floor and is getting support there. My whole point is that yes they know and yes they often accept it as a fact of life and do nothing to stop it.

Very very sad.

[Nurseynurseyme]

I think this is the first step towards change with this.

However, I also think this is what started turning "the mob" against me to begin with.

I didn't join the mob at the beginning of my employment there while they were ganging up on someone else at the time. Gracious no, I even tried to point out their untruths against the poor soul. Call me naive, foolish, or idealistic. I just still can't stop trying to hang onto my integrity in these toxic swamps though. And yes, that person quit 6 months later anyhow.

I am in my 40's and have lots of ICU experience. I am simply put, a good and respected nurse by the Docs. Ironically, I think this also contributed against me here.

Anyhow, I am an "at will" employee. Also, I don't think the United States has any laws yet against mobbing, like they do in some European Countries. Are there really any legal avenues for me to pursue here?

"Quitting" seems like I'm empowering them to continue to do this to others. I really think we need to find solutions for this problem collectively.

I'm sure countless others have been on the receiving end of this particular form of workplace abuse. I wish them all a speedy recovery.

Again thanks to all who responded so far. I found myself shedding healing tears while reading some posts.

It's sad to think my only recourse is to run from it. But this sad truth has become self evident already.

There is something called hostile work environment. Read up on your state's labor laws. If it is happening to you then it may fall under harassment and there ARE laws against that.

[Nurseynurseyme]

I'm not a nurse, but in medicine we "mob" each other regularly, mainly medical students and residents. It's our culture. The most severe instances are usually because of a general feeling that the person is incompetent, and patients would be better off if the person would quit. I had assumed that this was the same in nursing?

I think that may be true, however who's to say that one's personal opinion should be the arbiter of this person's career/education? Why not encourage this person and try to help them? If they are unsafe, then it will be come evident and steps can be taken that won't be mean spirited.

For myself, I am competent and honorable. I personally think that the reason it happened to me was because the perpetrators felt challenged by me and my questions and I was not sufficiently cowed by them, so they went underground and poisoned the well.

I refused to accept that mistakes are ok, and I said my goal was to avoid them; one preceptor in particular was very offended by that.

[rph3664]

If you people think this is unique to nursing, you're mistaken. I have seen, and experienced it, in jobs I had before I became a pharmacist.

And twice, I have been fired from pharmacy jobs due to falsified disciplinary reports. Everyone's response was, "Prove you didn't do this and we will expunge it from your record." The people who falsified my files have done this to other people, and I'm pretty sure one of them tried to blackball me. Yeah, yeah, I know employers are only supposed to say that you worked there, but who knows what else she told them?

This was in a city of 300,000 and I solved the problem by moving - something I DID NOT want to do because I loved living there otherwise. I have met students who had already heard that this city was a very difficult place to work as a pharmacist, and had classmates who grew up there but weren't going to move back for this reason.

How do people like this sleep at night?

[pooh54]

So sorry this has happened to you. Hugs to u. I've personally experienced this and am currently watching this happen to a colleague of mine,I've spoken up to no avail.... the nurse must also take up her own cause or leave. Unfortunately leaving also allows the behavior to continue, but taking on the whole organization can be very intimidating.My current nurse manager is utilizing HR to perpetrate this unfair behavior . Best of luck to you in whatever decision you make, I waited so long that I was dx'ed with PTSD.

[rph3664]

So sorry this has happened to you. Hugs to u. I've personally experienced this and am currently watching this happen to a colleague of mine,I've spoken up to no avail.... the nurse must also take up her own cause or leave. Unfortunately leaving also allows the behavior to continue, but taking on the whole organization can be very intimidating.My current nurse manager is utilizing HR to perpetrate this unfair behavior . Best of luck to you in whatever decision you make, I waited so long that I was dx'ed with PTSD.

Thanks for the kind words; it happened years ago and I have gotten over it.

I, too developed PTSD from the "blackball" job and had daily migraines for months afterwards. They were not serious; I could still function but they were quite annoying.

When I had my pre-employment physical at the job where I have worked for 4 years with exemplary reviews, I told the employee health nurse about the PTSD and she looked at me like I had an extra head and asked me, "What could a pharmacist possibly experience on the job that would lead to PTSD?" :trout: I explained why, and she seemed to understand at that point, but that happened to be her last day and I later heard that she had that kind of attitude towards people and that was why she was kind of asked to leave.

[Chaya, ASN, RN]

I have seen this in Nursing as well as in other jobs and professions. I have experienced before. Best to get out.

boneta

Thing is, there's no guarantee the new place won't be as bad as or worse than the first. Then where are you? I'm not sure it's possible for one lone employee to change their work atmosphere alone but I need to believe that a nucleus of committed people who can no longer stand by and watch this crap go on, can change it. Or else this could be the work environment that will exist everywhere!

[Nurseynurseyme]

If you people think this is unique to nursing, you're mistaken. I have seen, and experienced it, in jobs I had before I became a pharmacist.

And twice, I have been fired from pharmacy jobs due to falsified disciplinary reports. Everyone's response was, "Prove you didn't do this and we will expunge it from your record." The people who falsified my files have done this to other people, and I'm pretty sure one of them tried to blackball me. Yeah, yeah, I know employers are only supposed to say that you worked there, but who knows what else she told them?

This was in a city of 300,000 and I solved the problem by moving - something I DID NOT want to do because I loved living there otherwise. I have met students who had already heard that this city was a very difficult place to work as a pharmacist, and had classmates who grew up there but weren't going to move back for this reason.

How do people like this sleep at night?

I know, it absolutely blows my mind that there are people out there who have nothing better to do than to sabotage people.

As a teenager (a long time ago!) I got a job clerking in a small pharmacy. The other girls were eating chips out of packages as they were stocking-they'd say "oops, that one fell on the floor and broke open" as they cut it open with their boxcutter-and ultimately they and the assist mgr/pharmacist stole money from my drawer. When I was asked about it by the suits, I told them I didn't count that drawer before I left (as it was policy at the store for others to count the drawer) and so they couldn't fire me.

Then, I came in one day and out of the clear blue I was asked to count my drawer from the previous day. I knew what would happen, and it did; it was $20 short again. Like I would be so stupid to do that!! But I was fired anyhow. I was 17 years old.

One of these girls wound up getting married in the middle of this and during the reception, someone stole all the cash from her purse that she was going to take on her honeymoon. I felt sorry for her a little, but I guess it was karma swinging back around.

I guess the moral of the story is, Mean People Suck!

:)

Now, I just stay away from people when they start making comments that reveal them to have a toxic personality. I don't want to be around them.

[Lissyann]

This is so sad. I have never heard of this. How prevalent is this? Is there a certain type of personality that they go after? I am quiet and do not have a very strong personality; I tend to blend into the background. Am I someone who would be considered ripe for this kind of abuse? This is scary!

I am just beginning my education in the nursing field. But I may seriously consider switching my major if I am convinced this would likely happen to me - I don't think I am strong enough to tolerate that kind of work environment.

OP, I am so sorry that this is happening to you. I do hope you find a satisfactory way of resolving it.

[mianders, RN]

I have been a nurse for 13 years and have never heard of this. I would go to administration and if that did not work I would file harrassment suit against the hospital and the nurses that participated. Good luck!

[rph3664]

I had one job where I was afraid that they would steal drugs and make it look like I did it. That job experience was so bad, I briefly considered surrendering my license.

Several years ago, I was interviewing and was asked why I left that job after 4 months. I hemmed and hawed, and the interviewer said, "I have heard many times that Hospital X is a very difficult place to work." So, I told him what happened to me.

I didn't get that job, but I didn't really want it either.

Mianders, what would you do if administration was in cahoots? This is what happened to me.