ABSTRACT
Any workplace, including academe, can alter the emotional state of a targeted victim of bullying. Bullying is subtle, crippling, blatant, and pathological. In most cases, bullying proceeds before the target realizes he/she has been targeted and victimized. Stress appears to be the most common denominator of bullying both as a precipitator for the bully and as a response for the target. Depression risk rose with the frequency, duration, and severity of bullying in the workplace. As depression worsens, it triggers subsequent blows to the target's self-confidence, self-worth, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Highly stressed workers, either target or bully, often vent their frustration and attempt to reduce stress by lashing out at administrators and colleagues and engaging in their own unique set of deviant behaviors. Targets suffering an array of emotions as a result of being bullied can present with physical health issues or psychosomatic symptoms.
