Some workplaces are stressful. Others have an overall positive culture with a few people who just don’t seem to fit in with their co-workers. However, some work environments are downright hostile.
Team members or someone in management might actively bully a specific employee or multiple people at the company. They may attack people based on their sex, race, age, appearance or personal beliefs. Dealing with frequent abuse and harassment at work will likely impact your job performance.
Workplace bullying could also have an impact on many other areas of your life, including your closest relationships and your mental health.
Why does workplace bullying affect the rest of your life?
Even if you have a rule that you never talk about work at home with your family, mistreatment at work will inevitably impact your relationships with the people you love.
For example, since you don’t want to involve them in your pain, they may feel like you shut them out and have withdrawn from the relationship. On the other hand, you may be too tired to engage with your children or invest in romance with your partner. You may also have a short fuse because of the abuse that you have suffered at work.
Your mental health and career will suffer
Workplace bullying can make people feel isolated. Sometimes, it can completely turn them off from a profession that they previously loved. An analysis of multiple studies shows a clear connection between workplace bullying and psychological suffering.
Workers dealing with harassment are more likely than many other professionals, including those who experience physical violence at work, to leave their profession entirely or retire early. Workplace violence is often associated with outside actors, meaning that people can separate their profession from that trauma. In the case of workplace bullying, it may involve so many people or have gone on for so long that it permanently altered someone’s passions or ability to excel in their chosen field.
When someone has made your workplace hospital and bullied you, fighting back is important. It protects you from some of the biggest losses you might suffer because of your trauma on the job and also reduces the likelihood that someone else will experience the same mistreatment in the future. Knowing your rights is standing up for them can put an end to workplace bullying and harassment.
