In many workplaces, the practice of hiring friends and family is normal, but can lead to serious issues over time. When a company favors personal connections over skills and qualifications, it can create an unfair workplace dynamic. Employees hired through personal ties may not have the experience needed for their roles, leading to resentment among other workers. This biased hiring can result in a divide where those who are related or close friends form a close-knit group, often referred to as a clique. Such groups may overlook the contributions of others. Over time, this favoritism can alienate talented individuals who feel undervalued and disconnected from the wider team.
As these cliques or cults develop, they can start to exert significant control over the workplace culture. Members of the inner circle may make decisions that benefit only themselves and their friends, disregarding the input and needs of other employees. This exclusivity can create a toxic atmosphere, making it difficult for new employees or outsiders to fit in. When a small group maintains power, it can foster an environment where loyalty is prized over competence. This can encourage employees to conform to the group’s norms and beliefs, leading to a cult-like mentality where questioning authority or differing views is discouraged. In extreme cases, this behavior can stifle innovation and creativity, denying the organization the full range of ideas and solutions available from a diverse workforce.
Coercive control is intricately linked to workplace cults and mobbing as both involve manipulative tactics that undermine individual autonomy. In such environments, leaders often exert significant influence over employees, fostering a culture of dependency and compliance. This manipulation can manifest through various means, including emotional pressure, isolation from outside perspectives, and the promotion of an us-versus-them mentality. The presence of coercive control in workplace cults can lead to a toxic atmosphere where dissent is discouraged, and loyalty to the organization is prioritized over personal well-being. Employees may find themselves trapped in a cycle of fear and obligation, making it difficult to recognize the unhealthy nature of their situation, which involves being trauma bonded. This environment not only stifles creativity and innovation but also contributes to high levels of stress and burnout among employees. Documentation is these environments are critical, even when it’s a good conversation or a good day. Document always, emails, conversations, images, videos and etc. Situational awareness is also very important, especially in hostile workplace cultures and a safety plan for exiting.
Here Are Some Tactics of Workplace Coercive Control:
(1) Employees receive selective and deliberate hardship work tasks from managers who use this method to exercise control and punishment, this is called information hoarding. The organization would use this method to give particular workers tasks which are unreachable and exceed their capacity thus making them appear incompetent and at fault. The tension increases they need to follow impossible instructions to keep their jobs. This is also known as card salad, referring to impossible instructions that make no sense so the employee will make many mistakes and then can be demoralized and bullied, often leading falsified PIP’s and other unethical issues and defamation concerns.
(2) Separating an employee from coworkers serves as a typical method to remove their connection to their colleagues. The organization can achieve this goal through three methods which include restricting employee communication access and preventing their participation in team gatherings and creating an environment where staff members doubt each other. The process of isolation creates conditions which reduce employee self-assurance while making them more vulnerable to control by others. This abusive process is call being ostracized.
(3) Victims of coercive control experience two different abusive methods which use direct and indirect forms of intimidation. The behavior includes making threatening statements about employment stability and it also involves both public shaming and physical aggressive nonverbal cues. The workplace becomes hostile through these methods which make employees fearful while they must follow the orders of the person who controls them.
(4) They face excessive monitoring from their employers who use sophisticated surveillance systems to track their activities. The process requires continuous observation of employee work output and tracking of their workplace interactions and monitoring of their activities during non-worktime hours, these forms of abuse of privacy often can come with criminal charges associated with stalking. The surveillance system creates an environment where employees lose trust in their organization because they believe their activities receive constant monitoring.
(5) Performance evaluations become vulnerable to manipulation through coercive control because someone uses force to perform unfair performance assessments which do not show the actual work output of employees. A controlling figure who distorts evaluation standards or gives deceptive performance assessments will damage an employee’s self-assurance which leads to their professional advancement.
Furthermore, the formation of these cliques or cults can deepen over time, as they may develop their own set of rules and values that are contrary to the company’s mission. The real danger emerges when these groups start to manipulate the workplace environment to maintain their status. They may use tactics such as gossip, exclusion, and emotional pressure to keep other employees in line, reinforcing their influence. This can create an insular culture that prioritizes loyalty to the clique over the broader goals of the organization. In this scenario, workers may feel trapped between their desire for advancement and the fear of being ostracized for not aligning with the group’s beliefs.
These groups function through members who strongly back their leaders while sharing the same beliefs which produces an unhealthy degree of dedication. The cults force their members to follow group rules which makes them lose their personal identity and their ability to practice ethical conduct at work. The secret nature of these groups creates an environment which produces fear among non-members because their cult-like actions include controlling behavior to achieve dominance, similar to workplace mobbing or bullying.
Workplace cults use advanced psychological and emotional control methods which exceed the methods used by workplace cliques and mobbing groups. The basic definition of cliques describes small social groups which either socialize with others or prevent them from joining but cults employ forceful methods to control their members and keep them dedicated to the group. A group of people who bully or harass someone else through mobbing activities create severe emotional suffering for their victim. A workplace cult centers on following the group beliefs which frequently accompanies methods that challenge people who doubt the current system. Cults use mobbing as a method to drive out members who oppose them, but regular cliques do not always display this level of dangerous behavior which makes workplace cults especially threatening.
The formation of cults or cliques develop when organizations fail to establish proper leadership systems or when specific individuals take over the management of the organization. People who seek affirmation and acceptance and want to belong to a community tend to follow charismatic leaders. People first enter these groups because they want to socialize but they eventually lose their individuality to the group’s beliefs. The cult will develop rituals and shared goals and special language which will help members create a powerful sense of belonging. The initial sense of accomplishment from this process gives way to an environment which prevents people from thinking critically. A group becomes tight knit when members show loyalty, but they might hide their actual intentions.
It’s very important to stay aware of your own thoughts while watching how groups behave in order to avoid joining a workplace cult. First identify the warning indicators which show manipulation or coercion because any group that forces you to give up your beliefs or makes you join their exclusive activities might indicate a problem. Building strong, diverse professional relationships outside of any dominant group can help create a healthy work environment, providing support when needed and maintain open dialogue and document all interactions about every suspicious workplace behavior which you witness.
Recording all instances, by meticulous documentation of workplace behavior which resembles cult activities when you observe them happening. The log contains direct evidence which you can use to seek help from human resources or request assistance from higher management, but use caution, especially if they are involved with the cults. Knowing the company policies about harassment and reporting methods will help you respond properly when you need to take action. A network of dependable colleagues which provides collective backing enables members to protect their personal views from team member influence. A workplace should aim to create collaborative environments which honor all team members’ work while building an environment that supports career development and welcomes all people above toxic relationships.
Here’s The Breakdown of Social Cults:
The information below, let’s you formulate the comparison between workplace and social cults.
A cult functions through its charismatic leader who maintains complete control over members by requiring them to follow his beliefs and practices without question. Social groups which form without authority figures become cliques when people unite through their common interests or their position in society.
People who join cults must give complete dedication to the group through their financial support and their separation from outside world and possible forced participation. Social groups known as cliques exist in a relaxed manner since their membership patterns tend to shift frequently according to how people interact with each other. Social Gaslighting is a common tactic used for exploitation; here is a free guide to help you to understand why gaslighting is used.
Cults establish their own unique beliefs which distinguish them from regular society through the creation of an oppositional mindset between their members and outside people. The main difference between cliques and subcultures exists because cliques lack defined beliefs yet their members bond through shared interests which develop in particular settings such as educational institutions and professional environments.
The psychological and emotional effects of cult membership result in members losing their freedom because the group uses fear-based manipulation to achieve total control over its members. The formation of cliques creates social connections which produce feelings of belonging, yet these groups create social exclusion and pressure on members although they lack the psychological control found in cults.
The members of cults become controlled through three methods which include indoctrination and isolation and fear tactics but cliques use social norms and peer pressure to maintain their group structure.
The main distinction between mobbing groups and cults and cliques exists because mobbing groups use aggressive conduct to target people through bullying and harassment activities. People in this group dynamic work to exclude and damage the person who is their target instead of building a common belief system or social connection. This is very similar to workplace mobbing, bullying and abuse by proxy.
People join cults because they want spiritual growth and personal change and to find their life purpose but members of cliques join because they want to connect with others who share their interests. The main reason behind mobbing groups exists because they want to exercise power over others while also feeling jealous or needing to demonstrate their superiority through victimization.
Cults force their members to cut off all contact with people who exist outside their group which leads to complete social separation and total dependence on the cult. The social network connects cliques to its members although these groups establish entry restrictions for people who want to join. This is similar to being ostracized or using isolation tactics to force compliance in the workplace.
The practice of joining a cult result in multiple severe negative effects which include psychological damage and financial depletion and social separation from others. Social anxiety emerges because of clique formation, yet these groups do not pose dangerous threats like cults do. The victim of mobbing experiences severe emotional suffering which leads to enduring psychological damage.
Cults demonstrate their last defining trait through their establishment of organized structures which contain defined roles for their members, similar to workplace mobbing or bullying. You are assigned a social role as soon as you are hired.
In a tough job market, working in a challenging environment can be hard. To survive in a toxic workplace, we need to be resilient, adaptable, and have good judgment. When job opportunities are limited, we must find our own solutions. That’s why I create HR scripts for Employees. These scripts help employees navigate difficult situations at work. Understanding your workplace environment is key to surviving and success, especially when facing difficult dynamics. By using these skills, you can manage challenges and thrive even in tough times. My course workbook spans 167 pages of educational support and workbook prompts, so you can start to regain control of your environment and greatly reduce its effects on your well-being and your family’s well-being. I included a free workplace trauma course and a workplace behavior definition that will help you name the abuse and therefore can address the behavior professionally and my course comes with a safety plan.
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We offer a variety of educational course workbooks, workplace life coaching, personal and professional development digital planners designed to help reduce the negative impacts of a toxic workplace environment. The Quick Reference Guide Course Workbook is a fantastic resource, with 260-plus pages of tips, suggestions and strategies to help employees to empower themselves.
What Every Target of Workplace Bullying Needs to Know is also an amazing resource for workplace mobbing targets. Our resources equip individuals with the tools they need to enhance their skills, foster positive relationships, and improve overall well-being. By combining practical guidance with actionable strategies, we empower employees to navigate challenges effectively, promote a healthier work culture, and cultivate personal growth, ultimately leading to a more fulfilling professional life.
Richard Schwindt, M.S.W., R.S.W., offers over 25 years of therapeutic experience, emphasizing the importance of the client-therapist relationship and the innate resilience of individuals in overcoming adversity. Author of Emotional Recovery from Workplace Mobbing
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