If you spend your workday avoiding an abusive boss, tiptoeing around co-workers who talk behind your back, or eating lunch alone because you’ve been ostracized from your cubicle mates, you may be the victim of workplace bullying. New research suggests that you’re not alone, especially if you’re struggling to cope.

Employees with abusive bosses often deal with the situation in ways that inadvertently make them feel worse, according to a new study published in the International Journal of Stress Management. That’s bad news, as research suggests that workplace abuse is linked to stress — and stress is linked to a laundry list of mental and physical ailments, including higher body weight and heart disease.

In at least one extreme case, workplace bullying has even been linked to suicide, much as schoolyard bullying has been linked to a rash of suicides among young people.

Bullying is “a form of abuse which carries tremendous health harm,” said Gary Namie, a social psychologist who directs the Workplace Bullying Institute. “That’s how you distinguish it from tough management or any of the other cutesy ways people use to diminish it.”

Struggle to cope

Namie was not involved in the new study, which surveyed nearly 500 employees about how they dealt with abusive supervision. Abusive supervisors are bosses who humiliate and insult their employees, never let them forget their mistakes, break promises and isolate employees from other co-workers, study author Dana Yagil of the University of Haifa in Israel told LiveScience.

About 13 to 14 percent of Americans work under an abusive supervisor, Yagil said. Her study on Israeli workers found that abused employees tend to cope by avoiding their bosses, seeking support from co-workers and trying to reassure themselves. As useful as those strategies might sound, however, they actually made employees feel worse. [7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You]

“It is understandable that employees wish to reduce the amount of their contact with an abusive boss to the minimum, but the strategies they use actually further increase their stress instead of reducing it,” Yagil said. “This may happen because these strategies are associated with a sense of weakness and perpetuate the employee’s fear of the supervisor.”

Tragic consequences

Avoiding a workplace bully might seem easier than avoiding a school bully, given that employees can quit their jobs. But workers get caught in a cycle of stress, Namie said. An online survey of targeted workers by the WBI found that they put up with the abuse for an average of 22 months.

The stress of the bullying may itself lead to bad decision-making, Namie said. A 2009 study in the journal Science found that stressed-out rats fail to adapt to changes in their environment. A portion of the stressed rats’ brains, the dorsomedial striatum, actually shrunk compared with that region in relaxed rats. The findings suggest that stress may actually re-wire the brain, creating a decision-making rut. The same may occur in bullied workers, Namie said.

“This is why a person can’t make quality decisions,” he said. “They can’t even consider alternatives. Just like a battered spouse, they don’t even perceive alternatives to their situations when they’re stressed and depressed and under attack.”

Sometimes this cycle ends with tragedy. Namie works as an expert legal witness on bullying. In one upcoming case, he said, a woman put up with daily barrages of screaming abuse from her boss for a year. By the end, she was working 18-hour days, trying to shield the employees under her from her boss’ tyranny, Namie said. Finally, she and several of her co-workers put together a 25-page complaint to human resources. Nothing happened, until she was called in for a meeting with senior management. The woman knew she would be fired for making the complaint, Namie said.

“Rather than allowing herself to be terminated, she bought a pistol, went to work, left three suicide notes, and she took her own life at work,” he said.

“She was like that rat stuck in a rut,” he added. “She didn’t see any alternative at that point.”

Why bullying happens

While all workplace-bullying cases are not so extreme, it does seem to be a common problem, said Sandy Herschcovis, a professor of business administration at the University of Manitoba who studies workplace aggression. Between 70 and 80 percent of Americans report rudeness and incivility at work, Herschcovis told LiveScience. Fewer are systematically bullied, she said, but the best estimate puts the number at about 41 percent of American workers having been psychologically harassed at work at some point.

Hierarchical organizations such as the military tend to have higher rates of bullying, Herschcovis said, as do places where the environment is highly competitive.

“Definitely the organizational context contributes,” Herschcovis said.

The personality of the bully is often key, with some research suggesting that childhood bullies become bullies as adults, she said. Targets of bullying are often socially anxious, have low self-esteem, or have personality traits such as narcissism, Herschcovis said. “We don’t want to blame the victim, but we recognize this more and more as a relationship” between the bully and the target, she said.

Little research has been done on how to deal with abusive bosses or bullying co-workers. In mild cases, where a boss may not realize how their behavior is coming across, direct confrontation might work, Yagil said. One research-based program that seems to have potential is called the Civility, Respect and Engagement at Work project, Herschcovis said. That program has been shown to improve workplace civility, reduce cynicism and improve job satisfaction and trust among employees, she said. The program has employees discuss rudeness and incivility in their workplace and make plans to improve. [8 Tactics to Bust the Office Bully]

For workers experiencing bullying, Herschcovis recommended reporting specific behavior to higher-ups, as well as examining one’s own behavior. Sometimes victims inadvertently contribute to the bullying relationship, she said. Namie cautioned that victims should proceed with care, however, as there are no anti-bullying workplace laws on the books in the U.S.

“HR [human resources] has no power or clout to make senior management stop,” Namie said. “Without the laws, they’re not mandated to make policies, and without the mandate, they don’t know what to do.”

Since 2003, 21 states have introduced some version of anti-bullying bills, but none have yet passed. Twelve states have legislation pending in 2012, according to healthyworkplacebill.org.

In the meantime, Herschcovis and her colleagues have found that bystanders in the workplace are usually sympathetic to the victim rather than the bully.

“Outside parties are most likely to want to intervene, and to be in a position to intervene,” Herschcovis said. The trick, she added, will be to find ways to encourage co-workers to stand up for one another.

View the original article at http://www.workplacebullying.org/?p=7296 Bullying bosses can make life a misery in the workplace. But research shows they could also wreck a marriage.

via How stress from a bullying boss ‘could harm your marriage’ | Mail Online.

A recent online poll conducted on the Workplace Bullying Institute’s website supported the common sense argument that workplace bullying strains the target’s primary relationship at home.

Here are the results:
Since becoming the target of workplace bullying, my relationship with my partner (primary source of emotional support) has been:

• Strained; we experience more conflict or stress as a result (62%)
• Strengthened; we are closer and more connected (17%)
• Dissolved; we are estranged/separated/divorced (14%)
• Unsure how the experience has affected my relationship (4%)
• Unaffected; the bullying has not had an impact (3%)

The vast majority (76%) of respondents reported negative consequences for their relationship, indicating it was marked by more conflict and stress or had been dissolved since being targeted by workplace bullying. Intuitively this makes sense, as the target, under significant pressure, relies on the support of his/her partner to understand and cope with adverse work conditions. The target uses his/her partner as a sounding board and filter for trying to comprehend the injustice of the situation. As expected, the increased and repetitive focus on work stress and anxiety strains the couple’s relationship over time.

In my role as the professional coach for the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), I’ve spent countless hours on the phone with targets offering customized strategies for dealing with workplace bullying. The topic of relationship strain is a common one and I’d like to take this opportunity to share a few insights from my work with couples as a licensed mental health therapist and my training through WBI.

Knowing that the experience of being targeted by workplace bullying can cause tension in your relationship, here are a few suggestions and examples of how to help ward off the negative effects of this stress.

Set Healthy Relationship Goals
What is important to you as a couple? What parts of your relationship do you want to strengthen?

Put some thought into where you want to invest your time and energy. Think about how the two of you can work together to accomplish mutually agreed upon goals and counteract the stress you are experiencing. To increase your chance of success, make sure your goals are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely).

Case Study: I recently worked with a target and her husband to address the relationship challenges they faced. “Jan” and “Brian” reported spending more time fighting since Jan had been targeted by a workplace bully than they ever had in the 15 years prior. I asked them each (independently) to identify the top 10 values in their relationship (e.g., intimacy, fidelity, honesty, effective parenting, spontaneity, fun, etc.). The next week, I asked Brian and Jan to share their respective lists and select the top three values they could mutually agree upon. From the short-list, we established goals designed to increase the focus on what they acknowledged as being the most important elements of a healthy relationship. Jan and Brian committed to engaging in two activities per week to advance their goals and built time into their busy schedules to focus solely on their relationship. After three weeks, Brian reported a major shift in the home environment. He said he truly looked forward to coming home each night (something he once dreaded due to Jan’s emotional state after work). Jan said she felt much more supported by Brian and that the “feeling of walking on eggshells” was gone. Together, they noted a significant decrease in marital conflict. Jan recently escaped her workplace bullying situation and Brian and Jan continue to set and achieve goals based on their relationship values.

Expand Your Social Support Network
Everyone needs a social support network, especially in times of stress. Your social support network is made up of friends, family, co-workers, and peers. It is important to build these connections, in part because reaching out to others reduces the strain placed on the relationship with your partner. Additionally, the variety of perspectives offered by the different members of your support network may help you find solutions and opportunities you otherwise might not have considered.

Growing and maintaining your support network is not difficult. For example, you can find new people by joining a social club, church, community education class, or seeking out volunteering opportunities. Maintain these relationships with casual, low-stress activities such as lunch dates with friends, coffee with co-workers, and phone calls and emails to family members and friends.

Though the time you spend with them may look different, you may want to consider expanding your network to include helping professionals (e.g., mental health therapist, physician, mentor, support group, spiritual leader, massage therapist, etc.).

Putting the effort into building a support network is a wise investment, not only in your mental well-being, but also in your physical health and longevity. A strong social support network offers a sense of belonging and security, as well as an increased sense of self-worth. Additionally, research shows that those who enjoy high levels of social support stay healthier and live longer!

Nourish Your Relationship
Similar to setting healthy relationship goals, this suggestion requires an intentional and concentrated focus on the couple. One way you can nourish your relationship is by planning and participating in activities you both enjoy. You do not have to invest a great deal of time and money, just some creative thought.

Try a date night, a picnic, a mini-getaway, take a class together, look through old photos/videos, commit to walking/exercising together, exchange love notes, prepare your favorite meal together, have a game night, read to one another…the possibilities are truly endless. Start by creating a list of your favorite activities and once a week (or more often) simply choose something from this list. It doesn’t need to be a big production, it just needs to be time spent together, focused on something enjoyable. Note: Not every activity you do together will be a resounding success, but don’t give up (and remember to try and laugh at the less-than-successful ones).

Educate Your Partner
The experience of being targeted can be a very lonely one. Many targets report a sense of isolation at work, especially when co-workers and supervisors witness the bullying behavior, but fail to take action or support the target. This sense of isolation may be further complicated by the fact that the target’s friends and family do not understand the phenomenon of workplace bullying. The people around you might encourage you to “buck up,” “quit that job,” or to “just leave your problems at work.” This advice, though well intentioned, is not helpful to a target merely searching for an empathic and compassionate response.

Education is the most powerful tool humans possess. Targets have valuable knowledge gained through personal experience and research conducted on websites and in books like ours. Share this information with your partner, but be careful not to overwhelm him/her. People learn best when they move at their own pace.

Point your partner to a small section of the website or a chapter in the Namies’ book, The Bully at Work. Ask him/her to watch a video or listen to an audio clip. WBI offers many resources on our website, including an introductory brochure designed to share with friends and family. If your partner has never been exposed to workplace bullying, it is understandable why s/he may not be sensitive to your experience. Education is the key to empathy.

Release Your Partner
Our partners care very deeply for us. They see when we are hurting and want to make it better. Workplace bullying sometimes results in a very real and severe psychological injury–the kind of injury your partner cannot repair on his/her own. It can help a great deal to simply tell your partner that you genuinely appreciate his/her concern and desire to “fix” the situation; however, it is not something s/he can fix.

Release your partner from the shame, guilt, and anger associated with feeling helpless to correct the problem. You can let your partner know you want and need his/her support, but that this is a situation you must solve on your own. I can’t tell you how many times clients have told me that this sincere, straightforward message saved their relationship.

Jessi Eden Brown, MS, LMHC, LPC is the professional coach for WBI and a licensed therapist in private practice. She provides targets with emotional support and customized strategies for effectively addressing workplace bullying.

Partners are invited to be involved in the coaching process in the event they (a) don’t understand or believe what is happening, or (b) want to be able to provide better support to their bullied partner. Coaching fees are not affected by the decision to include a partner. Learn more about WBI’s coaching services.

If you are the target of workplace bullying, find additional help here.

Elizabeth Blackburn won the 2009 Nobel prize for Medicine and Physiology. I previously wrote about her work. Briefly, she discovered 20 years ago the telomere, chromosome-protecting caps at the end of strands of DNA. Telomere damage or shortening translates to advanced cellular aging.

Telomere = Greek for "end" (telos) and "part" (meros)

Research by Elissa Epel and Blackburn and others measured telomere length and telomerase enzyme levels to show that mothers who raise special needs children may have their lives shortened by between 9 and 12 years from the stress that they reported.

Now comes news that Epel and Blackburn at the University of California, San Francisco, are soliciting women ages 50 to 65 to volunteer for a study beginning August, 2010. The purposes are to develop a test for telomere length, to assess the correlation with lifestyle behaviors, and the reaction to learning how likely you are to live a long (or stress-shortened) life.

Here is an application of basic science to the real world. Is the telomere a predictor of longevity or overall health? Older genetic tests can predict one’s risk for cancer or Alzheimer’s. This may be the next big breakthrough.

To volunteer, women must be in good health and between ages 50-65. Call 415-476-7634 or e-mail  knowyourtelomeres@ucsf.edu

Also read the July 5, 2010 article by Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle

Worklessness and health – what do we know about the causal

For an easy download of this document, go here.

WBI loves his popularization of the neuroscience of prolonged stress and its impact on health. Adult targets of bullying at work should appreciate his insights. His book  Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases and Coping a veritable textbook for those of us not in medical school to which we refer in speeches and WBI University. Purchase his book.

His bio
Robert Sapolsky, Ph.D is  Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University . Sapolsky, a neuroendocrinologist, has focused his research on issues of stress and neuron degeneration, as well as on the possibilities of gene therapy strategies for help in protecting susceptible neurons from disease. His lab was among the first to document that stress can damage the neurons of the hippocampus. He is currently working on gene transfer techniques to strengthen neurons against the disabling effects of glucocorticoids. Sapolsky has received numerous honors and awards for his work, including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the Klingenstein Fellowship in Neuroscience. He received the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award and the Young Investigator of the Year Awards from the Society for Neuroscience, the Biological Psychiatry Society, and the International Society for Psychoneuro-Endocrinology. Author of numerous science articles, he is on the editorial boards of several journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience, Psychoneuroendocrinology, and Stress and is a contributing editor for The Sciences.

Listen to two of his speeches at our Audio library.

- Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers

- Stress and Coping: What Baboons Can Teach Us

Purchase his Zebras book.

Read one of his articles written for general audiences. [The influence of social hierarchy on primate health. Science, 2005, 308, 648-652.]

Elizabeth Blackburn

The 2009 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine was won by Elizabeth Blackburn and two others for the discovery of “how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.” Telomere shortening makes humans age faster than they otherwise would. Blackburn, the 60-year old biochemist at the University of California, San Francisco , oversees diverse applications of the science from her lab. Read reporter Katherine Seligman’s profile of the scientist.

The most relevant aspect of her original 1970′s discovery is the study of the impact of exposure to stress on telomeres which shortens the stressed person’s life.

Our personal genetic codes are carried in chomosomes made up of DNA molecules . Telomeres are the caps on the ends of the string-like chromosomes. According to Blackburn, telomeres are “like the plastic ends of a shoelace.” Blackburn discovered that those caps protect the chromosomes during replication.

As we normally age, telomeres shorten and start to lose their protective capacity and we lose protection from diseases. As the caps wear down and the cells shut down, we age. Unprotected chromosomes are prone to mutations and cancer.

Elizabeth Blackburn and felllow Nobel winner, Carol Greider who originally was one of Blackburn’s graduate students, identified telomerase, the enzyme that maintains the stability of the protective telomere caps. Because telomerase rebuilds the telomere caps, the enzyme actually delays aging (called senescence by scientists). This was true in simple organisms (the initial work was with yeast cells) and in humans.

Activity by telomerase — the enzyme not the chomosome telomere caps themselves — is associated with cancer cells. Normal cells divide and lose their telomere caps and require telomerase to rebuild. Cancer cells, however, divide constantly (moreso than normal cells) yet somehow maintain their telomeres caps. Why do cancer cells not age and die? Telomerase may hold the key. Research continues.

For bullied targets, the Nobel winning research is directly relevant. There is a connection between stress (the human response to external psychosocial stressors) and aging at the cellular level. Long-term exposure to stress decreases telomerase activity resulting in telomere cap shortening leading to accelerated aging through premature cell death. Highly stressed women experienced the equivalent of an additional 9 to 17 years of aging when compared to non-stressed women.

In an illustrative study led by another of Blackburn’s former graduate students, Elissa Eppel, mothers were categorized as either “caregiving mothers” or “control mothers” based on whether or not they raised a chronically ill child or a healthy child and self-ratings of stress in their lives. Age affects telomere length. They are shorter as we age naturally.  Telomere length was the key measure of the impact of stress in this study. Sophisticated analyses of blood samples yielded telomere lengths and telomerase levels.

Self-ratings of stress were higher in caregiver moms. Within the caregiver group of 39 women, the more years of stressed caregiving, the shorter was the telomere length and the lower the telomerase activity level. And perceived stress was associated clearly with telomere length. The women with the highest stress had significantly lower telomerase activity level, exposing the ends of chromosomes to damage causing them to age faster.

In addition to shortened telomeres, highly stressed women in this study suffered more oxidative stress (cell damage from circulating free radicals that attack cellular DNA and RNA) which causes diseases like atherosclerosis, heart failure, heart attacks, Alzheimer’s, and chronic fatigue syndrome. The release of glucocorticoids, the primary stress hormones released by the adrenal gland during the body’s initial stress response is known to damage neurons. (Read Sapolsky’s Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers for a clear, non-scientific description of this elaborate physiological process.) Low telomerase levels are associated with premature death in adults from bone marrow failure and vulnerability to infections.

The researchers in this caregiving mother study raised the fascinating possibility that people who are more psychologically resistant to stress have longer telomeres than highly stressed individuals. And telomerase contributes to maintaining telomere length. Longer telomeres can extend the life span (in simpler, non-human, organisms). A missing link in the science is the confirmed association between psychological stress resistance and physiological (at the cellular level) stress resistance. But it makes sense.

You can also view Dr. Blackburn’s streaming and downloadable online video lectures about telomeres and telomerase.

Summary: chronic, unremitting stress causes problems at the cellular level that can prematurely age a person and render him or her vulnerable to diseases that kill. Moral of the story: stress is physiological and works at the cellular level. If your workplace has begun to cause you health problems, escape to live. Your body has already begun the process of decline and is aging you faster than necessary. Put your health first.

G. Namie

Stress & the Economic Crisis

The Dark Side of the World of Work

First official WBI podcast

A welcome and warning about the stress-related pressures the economic crisis brings.

You can either..

Download Podcast 1 (in .mp3 format)