Does workplace bullying have long term effects?

Workplace bullying can have severe consequences while it is occurring, but does it have long-term life-changing effects on the victim? And if it does, what does this mean for organisations with bullying and harassment cultures or who have managers and supervisors who resort to workplace bullying in order to get the job done?

For this article, we look at European research that interviewed 20 victims of workplace bullying to determine their long-term psychological and physical health changes. For these employees, bullying included the spreading of rumours and repeated insults aimed at changing the image of the victim and resulting in feelings of guilt, shame and diminishing self-esteem.

We conclude the article with primary, secondary and tertiary anti-bullying interventions that organisations can draw on to prevent workplace bullying, support victims and reduce the long-term effects.