Ostracism and isolating people does more damage to their mental and physical well-being than bullying.
Amongst other things, bullying constituted feeling they were the subject of gossip, were taking the rap for mistakes they hadn't made and getting constantly criticised.
As bad as workplace bullying is, there is something worse for both mental and physical well-being, another new study finds.
A series of surveys carried out by researchers at the University of British Columbia and elsewhere asked people about their experiences of harassment and ostracism at work (O'Reilly et al., 2014).
These revealed that people felt ignoring others was socially acceptable - especially in comparison to bullying.
People generally thought that being ignored was significantly less harmful than being bullied.
A second survey, however, looked at people's actual experience of both ostracism and bullying.
Contrary to people intuitions, ignoring others emerged as more damaging than direct harassment.
Compared with those who had experienced harassment, those being ignored felt more inclined to quit their job, less connection to their job and had a greater number of health problems.
Professor Sandra Robinson, one of the study's authors said:
In addition, a third study revealed that people who'd experienced ostracism at work were actually more likely to have quit their jobs three years later."We've been taught that ignoring someone is socially preferable - if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all.
But ostracism actually leads people to feel more helpless, like they're not worthy of any attention at all."
In comparison, those who had been bullied at work were no more likely to have left their jobs.
Professor Robinson concluded:
"There is a tremendous effort underway to counter bullying in workplaces and schools, which is definitely important.
But abuse is not always obvious.
There are many people who feel quietly victimized in their daily lives, and most of our current strategies for dealing with workplace injustice don't give them a voice."
Comment: The reason that abuse often not obvious to others is that psychopathic individuals are extremely adept at "wearing a mask" that often fools others into thinking they are ideal employees and leaders. It is only those that have been targeted, typically subordinates or peers, who begin to sense that they (and the organization) are being manipulated. They commonly marginalize others, create schisms between people and cause infighting within groups. Much of this is done secretly, so they are able to maintain a veneer of normality while disarming their prey. Educating oneself about the nature of these predators is of utmost importance in order to protect oneself and to understand how they have overtaken society.
Dr. Paul Babiak on the crisis of psychopaths in the workplace