Bullying doesn't just crush careers – it changes people

Inside the UK's silent workplace bullying crisis

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Sadly, most people will come across a workplace bully at some point. Unwarranted criticism, ostracism, personal insults, and verbal or physical threats are just some of the tools in the bully's locker. Over time, the target of bullying can find it increasingly difficult to defend themselves from this behaviour.

Bullying undermines productive workplaces, and can damage the reputations of both the bully and the organisation. Of course, it is even more damaging for the targets of the bully, who report physical and psychological health problems, job loss, and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

With up to one in ten UK employees experiencing bullying, this problem could affect more than three million workers across the country.

In a recent research study drawing on data from 2,469 employees over a four-year period, we examined whether experiences of bullying were related to changes in the "big five" personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.

It's well known that bullying is bad for wellbeing, performance and mood. But why would we think that bullying might change core aspects of a person, including their personality?