The Impact of Workplace Bullying on Mental and Physical Health

by Catherine MatticeOct 13, 2014

Private Health and Life Insurance Experts, a blog by Luxury Medical, recently put out an article regarding the impact of bullying.

Of course, the article mentions the mental impact of bullying – it’s no secret that bullying hurts. This is because bullying gets at our basic human needs to feel safe, to belong to a group, and to feel like that group values us. One study even found that those who are bullied as a child are more likely to suffer from poor mental health as an adult.

The article does a great job of discussing bullying and our fight or flight response. In other words, bullying increases stress levels causing the heart to beat faster, blood pressure to go up, and muscles to become more tense. In other words the body starts focusing on escaping danger and stops focusing on important things like its immune system and digestion.

Read the full article here.

Do you know how much money chronically bad behavior costs your company? Spoiler alert – it’s a LOT higher than you want it to be. Download our data and worksheet to see how it’s costing your organization and what you can do to fix it.

About Catherine Mattice

Catherine Mattice, MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is President of consulting and training firm, Civility Partners, and has been successfully providing programs in workplace bullying and building positive workplaces since 2007. Her clients include Fortune 500’s, the military, several universities and hospitals, government agencies, small businesses and nonprofits. She has published in a variety of trade magazines and has appeared several times on NPR, FOX, NBC, and ABC as an expert, as well as in USA Today, Inc Magazine, Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. Catherine is Past-President of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), San Diego Chapter and teaches at National University. In his book foreword, Ken Blanchard called her book, BACK OFF! Your Kick-Ass Guide to Ending Bullying at Work, “the most comprehensive and valuable handbook on the topic.” She recently released a second book entitled, SEEKING CIVILITY: How Leaders, Managers and HR Can Create a Workplace Free of Bullying.

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