Mobbing

What mobbing at work is, its main types and signs, how it differs from bullying and harassment, and what employers can do to prevent it

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Mobbing

What is mobbing?

Mobbing is the systematic, long-term harassment of an employee by an employer, colleagues or a group of colleagues, aimed at humiliating them, damaging their reputation or putting pressure on them to leave. The key signs of mobbing are that it is repeated, lasts a long time and has a clear target.

The term was applied to the workplace by Swedish psychologist Heinz Leymann in the 1980s. He described 45 typical mobbing behaviours and grouped them into five categories that are still used to recognise it.

Types and signs of mobbing

Category	What it looks like
Limiting communication	interrupting, ignoring, not replying to messages, shouting
Social isolation	leaving someone out of meetings, seating them apart, telling others not to talk to them
Attacks on reputation	spreading rumours, mocking, publicly belittling their work
Pressure through work	giving pointless or impossible tasks, removing duties, withholding information
Threats to health	threats, forcing harmful working conditions, pushing someone into stress and illness

Mobbing can be vertical (by a manager, sometimes called bossing), horizontal (by colleagues) or upward (by direct reports against a manager).

Mobbing vs bullying vs harassment

	Mobbing	Bullying	Harassment
Who does it	usually a group or a manager	often one person	one person or a group
Aim	push the person out of the team or company	assert power, humiliate	offend or intimidate, often linked to sex, age or another characteristic
Pattern	systematic and long-term	repeated	can be a single incident

The lines between these terms are blurred, so read more in our articles on workplace bullying and harassment.

How to prevent mobbing in 6 steps

Adopt an anti-mobbing policy. Define what counts as mobbing, where to report it and how complaints are handled, and include it in your code of conduct.
Provide a safe reporting channel. People stay silent when they fear retaliation, so they need a way to report anonymously.
Investigate every case. Set up a panel, gather accounts from both sides and evidence, and record decisions in writing.
Train managers. Many mobbing cases involve a manager, so teach managers to give feedback without humiliation.
Listen for signals. Regular surveys, exit interviews and rising turnover in one team are often the first signs of a problem.
Support those affected. Mobbing harms mental health, so people need protection from pressure and access to psychological support.

Mobbing and the law in the UK

UK law has no specific definition of mobbing; it is treated as bullying. Bullying itself is not unlawful, but it becomes harassment under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 when it is related to a protected characteristic such as age, sex, race or disability. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 also covers a course of conduct that causes alarm or distress.

Employees who resign because of serious mobbing may claim constructive dismissal, and since October 2024 employers have a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Acas guidance recommends a written policy, a clear complaints procedure and prompt investigation.

PeopleForce helps you spot and stop mobbing early. In Desk, employees can report mobbing anonymously, and the request is routed automatically to the right person. Pulse shows where engagement and the sense of safety are falling, and you can send your anti-mobbing policy for acknowledgement and signature with e-signature in Core HR.