ABSTRACT
One of the more commonly accepted definitions of workplace bullying is:
More specifically, bullying behaviors range from gossiping about, yelling at, or ignoring a person, to socially isolating an individual. The effects of workplace bullying on the careers and personal lives of the victims tend to be consistent and severe. Indeed, researchers have characterized workplace bullying as “an extreme type of social stress” (Zapf and Einarsen, 2005: 239) that may be “a more crippling and devastating problem for employees than all other work-related stress put together” (Einarsen, 1999: 17). Bullying research shows a clear connection with adverse health, and these stressrelated illnesses can have seriously negative career implications (Gardner and Johnson, 2001). Davenport et al. (1999) view bullying as an escalating process, yet the physical and mental health effects of bullying can be quite pronounced even in the early stages of a bullying scenario.
