Workplace bullying: The impacts on employees and organizations
By: Pat Consulting Ng
Tags: Employee Well Being, Workplace Culture, Workplace Bullying, Workplace Wellness, Mental Health Awareness

Our previous article explained that workplace bullying is a harmful, targeted behaviour that happens at work. It might be spiteful, offensive, mocking, or intimidating. It forms a pattern, and it tends to be directed at one person or a few people.

Workplace bullying is harmful to the physical and mental health of employees. But, do personal factors lead to workplace bullying?

There might actually be a significant relationship between individual (personality) factors and the vulnerability to workplace bullying. For example, individuals with low self-esteem and low social competence, and a high level of anxiety are more likely to be bullied at work. Also, individuals that are more suspicious, less assertive and with limited coping resources are more susceptible to workplace bullying.

Surprisingly, people that are rule-focused, bossy and controlling and more cautious are exposed to greater covert workplace bullying such as gossip, covert insults and sarcasm.

These are theories that require further research. Indeed, individuals may experience major personality changes as a consequence of exposure to workplace bullying, which disregards the view that individual characteristics may be antecedents of workplace bullying.

Negative consequences of workplace bullying

Moreover, various empirical evidence shows the negative impact of workplace bullying on mental and physical health. Workplace bullying is severely associated with stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, loss of self confidence, aggression, insomnia, apathy, muscle pains, headaches, stomach problems, and even hand tremors.

Like bullying in childhood, bullying in adulthood is also associated with a number of negative consequences, affecting emotional/psychological, medical, and socioeconomic areas of functioning.

Emotional/psychological consequences of workplace bullying:

Workplace bullying can result in increased stress and mental distress, even up to two years later. If you have been bullied at work or seen someone who has, then you will have experienced first-hand the increase in stress it brings to people’s lives. A genuine anxiety becomes pervasive, as the bullied individual worries what might happen next, and in some cases is even afraid to go to the office.

Workplace bullying causes mood and adjustment disorders, as well as reactive depression, as it is caused by events external to the victim. It can also result in panic attacks, insomnia and the inability to sleep soundly through the night, which has further mental health consequences beyond the impact of bullying.

Bullied individuals are also likely to face detrimental consequences such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is characterized by avoidance, social withdrawal, emotional numbing, irritable and angry behaviours and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms suggest that various self-management competencies, such as emotional self control, achievement drive and adaptability, are impeded. So, exposure to bulling in the workplace could develop into psychological distress, which subsequently results in the decrease of self-management ability. Psychological distress develops as a result of stressful circumstances, such as workplace bullying, which then results in increased instability, impaired decision-making and lack of insight.

In more severe cases, work-related suicide can occur. When victims are depressed, they become withdrawn and lose interest in activities they previously enjoy. Some are anxious about going to work or even going out at all. All this can lead to a frame of mind where it becomes difficult to stay optimistic and they feel suicide is the better option.

Medical consequences of workplace bullying:

In addition to emotional/psychological consequences of workplace bullying, there are a number of medical consequences as well. Greater exposure to workplace bullying results in greater general health complaints, neck pain, musculoskeletal complaints, acute pain, fibromyalgia and cardiovascular disease. Indeed, bullied individuals are 1.59 times more likely to develop a cardio-related illness, such as heart disease or stroke (Xu and colleagues, 2017). In other words, the incidence of heart-related problems increases by 59% in bullied individual compared to non-bullied individuals.

Moreover, being bullied at work increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by over 45% over the ensuing decade (Xu and colleagues, 2018).

Admittedly, observational epidemiological studies cannot outrightly prove the relationship between workplace bullying and heart problems or diabetes. Indeed, pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities can increase a person’s risk of being bullied and their risk of developing physical health challenges later on. But some mechanisms such as chronically rising levels of stress hormones and bullying victims adopting harmful coping behaviours, such as eating excessively or drinking too much alcohol, could explain how bullying leads directly to physical illness.

Socioeconomic consequences of workplace bullying:

The socioeconomic consequences of bullying has to do with how it affects the workplace. These include:

Financial loss resulting from legal costs or bullying investigations

Decreased productivity

Increased absenteeism

High turnover rates

Poor team dynamics

Reduced trust, effort, and loyalty from employees

Do you know your health can also be affected if you witness workplace bullying?

Even though you do not directly experience workplace bullying, you could experience future declines in work-related wellbeing, such as depression, by just merely witnessing the act (Singapore University, 2008).

Merely witnessing bullying can harm employees who lack social support or who are pessimistic in nature (Sheffield University, 2019). This is why it is important to first and foremost talk about bullying if you observe it in the workplace. You could talk about it with the victim (asking how they are doing) or with others (forming a plan to address it, or maybe just sharing experiences).

Being aware of bullying in the workplace and deciding not to take action is just the same as being responsible for any future abuses. Witnesses of bullying behaviour should be encouraged to report any such incidences. Individuals are less likely to engage in antisocial behaviour when it is understood that the organization does not tolerate such behaviour and that the perpetrator is likely to be punished.

People who bully may eventually face consequences, such as formal reprimands, transfer or job loss. But many types of bullying are not illegal. When bullying is not addressed, it becomes easier for people to continue bullying, especially when the bullying is subtle. Bullies who take credit for work or intentionally make others look bad may end up receiving praise or being promoted.

So what steps can you take if you are exposed to bullying at your workplace? Read our next article to find out.

At P.A.T, Consulting, we provide robust solutions to individuals, organizations and individuals in the area of mental health and wellbeing. Given the detrimental effects of workplace bullying to employees and organizations, it is paramount to stamp it out of your business. If you or your organization need advice in dealing with this issue and other issues related to mental health, we are here to provide professional help and advice. Send us an email at info@patnigeria.com

#PATCares