The Role of Cognitive Dissonnance in Workplace Mobbing

What is Cognitive Dissonance?

"Cognitive dissonance is just one of many biases that work in our everyday lives. We don’t like to believe that we may be wrong, so we may limit our intake of new information or thinking about things in ways that don’t fit within our pre-existing beliefs. Psychologists call this “confirmation bias.” ...

Crucially, as I believe happened in my situation:

 "Studies of cognitive dissonance show, that as soon as we take sides, the brain sees to it

 that we will justify and solidify our position by seeking only the information that 

confirms it, and deny, ignore or minimize evidence that we could be wrong."

(http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2008/10/19/fighting-cognitive-dissonance-the-lies-we-tell-ourselves/)

What I believe, in all likelihood, happened is that irrespective of whatever evidence my husband or I provided to the Board of Trustees, the Board accepted Rick's version of events as truthful. With the rumour of me supposedly being mentally unwell, anything that didn't tally with Rick's version would have been evidence of my mental ill health. (Please read my previous blog about my mental health, if you have not already done so.)

In addition, the fact that I developed panic attacks, had a seizure and suffered severe anxiety difficulties would again have reinforced that I was mentally ill, using cognitive dissonance.  The reality was that I had developed these difficulties as a reactive stress response to the "psychological terrorism" I was being subjected to. 

Cognitive Dissonance in Workplace Mobbing: From Janice Harper PhD, psychologytoday.com, March 2013:

" ... having been encouraged to avoid and resent the worker, to gossip about them and make adverse reports against them, otherwise kind and compassionate workers can quickly become nasty, bullying aggressors. And when they do so, they do not view themselves as aggressive, but as defending against the “irrational” acts and allegations of the targeted worker. ...

"Through cognitive dissonance, mobbing participants come to view their own bad behavior as justified and necessary, because to consider themselves as “bullying” a coworker is usually contrary to their own values and sense of self identity."

......

Excerpt from an email I sent to a charity trustee "Ben", identifying cognitive dissonance, without putting a name to it:

Dear "Ben" [charity trustee],

I see [current CEO] has now removed [my family's] name completely from the [charity] website, trying to eliminate any acknowledgement of the blood, sweat and tears my family gave for over 15 years to establishing a wonderful, highly professional charity, founded on strong moral and ethical principles. I thought [the charity]'s morality could get no lower; it seems I was wrong.   

[My daughters'] childhood and the death of their mother was intrinsically linked to [the charity]. To eliminate our work from the history is nothing short of cruel. ... I am not an ego driven person and never have been, but I am also not a person to crawl away defeated when kicked in the gutter for no good reason. A huge injustice has taken place, and I have every intention of putting it right. 

I repeat yet again - I have been completely truthful since our traumas began in April 2011, and therefore I will continue to speak the truth. If it has been said I lied, then it is probably the person speaking those words who is the liar. It may be much more comfortable to believe the person looking in your face than the person who has been banished, but the real truth remains the truth. [Here, without putting a name to it, I identify Cognitive Dissonance]. 

Irrespective of whether the lies that were told were believed (and it is clear these are numerous), I and my family have not at all deserved the treatment we have received.

It sickens me to the core that the trustee who told numerous lies, acted in a passive aggressive manner ... who was totally unprofessional and manipulative remains on the board of trustees. 

Regards 

No reply was received in response, as was frequently the case with our communications. This was one of many communications I and my husband sent to the trustees, but they repeatedly refused to respond or acknowledge the truth of what had happened, not only to me, but I suspect also to themselves.   

"One of the things that be confusing and frustrating for targets of bullying is that 
even when they use logic and evidence to defend themselves against attacks, they 
are unable budge the bullies from their stance. The bullies may seem reasonable
 in other circumstances and with other people. 

Why then, do they distort facts and substitute misinterpretations?" 

- www.respectfulworkplace.wordpress.com

I believe the answer to this question is indeed "Cognitive Dissonance".

I suspect even today, many, if not all of the trustees are unable to face what they did and 

for those of them who are capable of empathy and feelings of guilt, Cognitive Dissonance may be their only means of self-protection against those feelings of guilt. 

Mobbing - from good mental health to post traumatic stress - and back again to a positive future

It is hard to define when the mobbing began - certainly the seeds were set by Nancy, prior to the complaint being received in April 2011.  It is even possible that the complainant and Nancy had been working together on my downfall prior to the complaint being made.  However, as stated previously, I believe it was Rick who was the ringleader of the mobbing, and I believe it wasn't until the second half of April, after the complaint was received, that the situation evolved into full blown mobbing.  As I was ostracised by being kept without support, communication or information at home, it would have been easy for Rick and his accomplices to re-brand me as having becoming mentally ill and over-controlling.  With Rick appearing to be an intelligent, reasonable, caring, gentle and honest man, there would have been no reason for trustees to doubt his honesty.  I understand this; I would have fallen for his manipulation myself.  However when I repeatedly complained, procedures should have been followed and my complaints checked out.  In this post, I explore the reasons for his and Nancy's success in rebranding me as mentally unwell.  In addition, the post on Cognitive Dissonance should also be read to fully understand why this situation evolved in the way it did.

From  www.bullyingonline.org:

• "Bullies project their inadequacies, shortcomings, behaviours etc on to other people to distract and divert attention away from themselves and their inadequacies and to avoid facing up to the same.
• The vehicle for Projection is blame, criticism and allegation. 
• Allegations of financial or sexual impropriety may indicate that the bully has committed these acts. Bullies who steal will accuse others of stealing ...  
• When a target admits to being stressed and becomes unable to remain exposed to the source of the stress, bullies (and their supporters) will very often claim that their target is "mentally ill" or "mentally unstable" or has a "mental health problem". 

Bullying Online also suggests: 

• Every time a target is "blamed, criticised or subject to another specious allegation by the bully, the bully is implicitly admitting or revealing something about themselves. A target's awareness of Projection can help them translate whatever they are being accused of into an awareness of the bully's own misdemeanours."  

Despite the availability of overwhelming evidence that I was not mentally ill from my GP, External Consultant (highly qualified in the mental health field), a Consultant Occupation Physician, and my husband who himself has significant experience of working with mentally ill people, the Board of Trustees chose to ignore this.  

Excerpts from a letter to my GP from my External Consultant, a highly qualified mental health worker who was both a Director of a well established counselling service and a University lecturer. (July 2011):

“...[Me] last came to me for supervision in February this year.  At that time she was successfully   managing a number of work projects and reflecting on management issues reflectively and with considerable insight” ...

My external consultant went on to explain my experience and mental and emotional wellbeing following the complaint being received:

“She was feeling increasingly desperate, and then as you know, she had a seizure.  This was of course very traumatic.  In a normal course of events she would have support from her colleagues at work, but because she was unable to communicate with them and vice versa, she was cut off from this and was very isolated ... she was particularly badly affected because of the continuing lack of information or support from her workplace ... She was finding it hard to understand that her feelings of disempowerment and isolation had not been appreciated by the trustees ...”

 

I believe [me] is in perfectly sound mental and emotional health and her response to this situation is a normal one.  She has found it very stressful and this has caused a whirlpool of emotions, which in my view she has managed as well as anyone could in this situation.  She is aware that past experiences impact on her, but this does not mean she is unable to work; rather it informs the work she does with ...... children.”

An Occupational Health Assessment letter to my employers unsurprisingly did not conclude I was mentally ill but had psychological symptoms due to work related issues. July 2011:  

"You have referred her for a consultation to assess her fitness to return to work as she has been off work since 18th April 2011 attributed to psychological symptoms, which she says were triggered by work related issues.  She describes a work relationship issue that built up over the preceding four years. ... There is currently no indication (interpreting the relevant UK disability legislation) that she would be seen as disabled under the Equality Act."  - Consultant Occupation Physician.  July 2011 

As mentioned in previous posts, the long term effects of workplace mobbing are significant, frequently causing both physical and mental health difficulties.  Research has also indicated workplace bullying increases the risk of life threatening physical conditions in the future. In addition, it is not unusual for targets of mobbing to experience post-traumatic stress reactions as a result of the psychological injury they received from work colleagues. 


The need for trauma therapy is not unusual for people who have been subjected to workplace mobbing.  The prolonged 'psychological terrorism' inflicted on the target, combined with the denial of information, the lack of a fair right to be reply and the total injustice, prevents the target from being able to process what has happened, making it almost impossible to store the experience as a past memory in the brain. 

Instead of being a memory from the past, the trauma continues as the target continues to re-live their experiences through flashbacks, repetitive thinking, and triggers. This results in the amygdala remaining on high alert, in effect constantly in fight or flight mode.  (The amygdala is part of the limbic system and is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain's medial temporal lobe which plays a key role in the processing of emotions.)

Unfortunately this has been the case for me. Three years after my workplace abuse started, I am now undergoing trauma therapy for the psychological injury I received as a result of the behaviour of the Board of Trustees, a member of staff and the complainant.

Writing this blog, understanding what happened and ensuring my story is told, is part of my healing process.  At last the fog of trauma is beginning to clear.  My anger is subsiding; my determination to raise awareness of workplace mobbing is increasing.  If the Board of Trustees had hoped their actions will be forgotten, they are mistaken.

For me, this experience is indeed becoming part of my past, as I move on to a new, positive and exciting future, without guilt or self-doubt, stronger and wiser.