Any advice on mobbing?

[Ralf]

One of the schools I work for occasionally uses me to interpret in legal matters. Today I had a second meeting with a lawyer and a woman who appears to be a victim of mobbing (the woman, that is). Her scholarship was terminated prematurely by the institute she had worked for. The institute is connected to the university, and she was supposed to do her PhD in a special field of microbiology. To her mind, they simply wanted to get rid of her because she had the feeling that they wanted to get her out of what they felt was a homogeneous team. She just didn't fit in. The way she described it, she was treated in a very disrespectful and also discriminating way for both religious and ethnic reasons.

But in the letter of revocation it reads “Revocation resulted due to important reason in connection with a social deadline terminating on July 31st 2007. Revocation is based on severe and sustainable danger to the productivity of the work-group's teamwork, particularly imposed by repetitive and inappropriate reproaches addressed to the team leader and other team members as well as the threat of committing suicide.”

She claims that none of this is true, but at the same time she is convinced that the whole team will testify against her. Moreover, the lawyer thinks that she will not be able to produce any evidence for mobbing since the whole team opposes her.

Do you have any idea or suggestion what she could do?
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[Stew.t.]

Hi Ralf

I have come across this before. I would suggest consulting good old Eva or Martin, the oracles for legal stuff in Germany.

However to get you started on "bullying in the workplace" (aka mobbing) try this website where I got some good information for discussion.

http://www.mobbing-web.de/

Maybe make the theme a subject of a conversation lesson, or frame it as a case study (omitting the details of the victim of course).

If the lawyer can not help, it does not always mean there are no avenues.

trying to help!

cheers stigward
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[Ralf]

Hi Stew,

Thanks for the tip.

Has anyone ever come across a case of mobbing, or have you heard of somebody who has?
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[Stew.t.]

Hi

Of course I have, the mobbing was part of a "You male" German/International company. i had a one to one whose job was to deal with integration in said company. She did not know how to deal with the Sikh Indian lady, but she did well by bringing in a mediator.

Also look at the "wonderba" Krissy Jacksons and her thread here;

https://www.xing.com/app/forum?op=showarticles&id=5993565&articleid=5993565

Up to date dealings, maybe ping (msg) her.

cheers stew.t.
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[Prezbucky]

Mobbing?

I recommend Italians or Sicilians.

hehe
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[Ralf]

[Prezbucky]

tough situation

How are her supporters holding up?
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[Ralf]

[Prezbucky]

I mean are they able to carry her burden?

Are they okay with it, or are they griping about it (etc.)?
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[Ralf]

[Prezbucky]

Hopefully she will persevere and (at the same time) manage not to wear out her welcome.

If she had to get a job to help support herself, could she do so?
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[Ralf]

[Yankee]

.
I know the word 'mobbing' with the definition you're referring to here as a German word. It does not have the same meaning in American English. Has this definition of mobbing been adopted in British English?

I apologize profusely in advance for the off-topic question, but this is an English forum, and I have not heard the word 'mobbing' used this way in English. Thus my question.
.

[Ralf]

[Stew.t.]

Hi Ralf and Yankee

I was of the opinion that mobbing was distinctively a word used in German. However the student at Siemens pointed me to a book by Dr. Noa Zanolli Davenport, Ruth Distler Schwartz, and Gail Pursell Elliott, and later I found an American website;

http://www.mobbing-usa.com/

I just think the term has no wide spread use as such in British or American English.

cheers stew.t.
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