Books Published by Dr. Janice Harper
Janice Harper has first hand experience when it comes to being bullied in the workplace. As she approached tenure at the University of Tennessee, she asked her department chair to talk to an employee who was acting inappropriately. Though just weeks before her supervisor had praised her as “indispensable to the department,” he informed her that for bringing her concerns to him she should be terminated. The next thing she knew she was at the center of a whirlwind of attacks, accusations, and investigations that became so outlandish and cruel that she was ultimately subjected to a Homeland Security Investigation for claims she was building a hydrogen bomb. By the time she was fully exonerated and the university paid her a substantial legal settlement for its actions, she was left out of work, and out of a career. Her exoneration and legal settlement notwithstanding, her reputation had been smeared beyond repair, and her once stellar academic career was behind her. But rather than give in to rage and despair, she set out to understand what had made so many good people go bad once the gossip and institutional hysteria had begun.
In her book “Mobbed! What to do When They Are Really Out to Get You” Dr. Harper draws on her expertise in anthropology to offer fascinating insights into the chilling reality of just how bad it can get when someone in a position of influence or leadership sets out to eliminate someone–and what can be done to survive it. If you are experiencing mobbing in your workplace, community, family or military service, Mobbed! will help you in ways no other book on the topic can. Mobbed! not only explains the group psychology behind the phenomenon of group aggression, but it provides suggestions and guidelines on how to safely and sanely navigate the territory of group bullying or mobbing. With chapters on how to protect yourself emotionally, socially and professionally if you are being targeted, Mobbed! is a survival guide for anyone enduring the madness of the mob.
Mobbed! What to Do When They are Really Out to Get You
Backdoor Press, 2013, paperback 2016.
Sometimes they really are out to get you. When someone in a position of leadership or influences encourages others to turn against you, there’s no telling how far people will go. Whether in the workplace, community or family, group aggression is a patterned and predictable social phenomenon that includes gossip, accusations, sabotage and shunning. In Mobbed! What to Do When They Are Really Out to Get You, Janice Harper draws on studies in anthropology, psychology, organizational cultures, genocide and animal behavior to show how and why group bullying unfolds. With chapters on how to protect yourself emotionally, socially and professionally, Mobbed! may just save your job and sanity if you (or someone you love) becomes a target of group aggression.
“I don’t know if you realize or I can express how helpful your research has been to me in understanding what happened to [my family member]. I really appreciate your reaching out and helping.”
“Thanks for sharing your experiences ….and explaining the mobbing phenomenon. Your description of the stages and what’s coming next has been spot on and your suggestions are solid. Frankly, it’s like there is a “play book” on this. Your articles have provided insight and understanding and helped me move through this experience. Thank you !.”
“If we ever wonder at the mechanics of how aggression happens on the largest human scale, on down to the work group level, we have only to read Dr. Harper’s work. I have used my increased understanding to change workplace interactions, and feel that if the purpose of learning is to stimulate people to think, Dr. Harper has offered us new, fascinating and practical insights into us all. … I cannot speak highly enough about her positive and dynamic work.”
“I didn’t know how great an impact your work would have on my outlook when I rushed to purchase the book this past Friday. I found every bit of it encouraging, empowering and a very necessary infusion of hope. This was in every sense a page turner. Your insights were/are exactly what I needed in order to interpret the dynamics of my current situation.”
“I discovered you and your work in the aftermath of a mobbing incident that I barely survived. In my efforts to make sense of it all, I desperately trolled the digital sphere for understanding and came across your book and articles which brought comfort and provided a road map out of the darkness . Can’t thank you enough for your hard work shedding light on this diabolical workplace practice. I am inspired by your courage.”
“Every page I read in your book produces an “ah ha” moment. . . . Am pushing your articles and books to everyone I know.”