Samuel Farley, Karen Niven, David J. Hughes and Tom Booth (2025) recently published a study in Work & Stress that provides the strongest evidence to date that workplace bullying can lead to long-term personality change.
Drawing on a large Swiss panel dataset collected over four years (N = 2,469), the researchers examined how experiences of bullying relate to changes in the Big Five personality traits. They found that exposure to bullying was associated with:
- Increased neuroticism – heightened tendencies towards anxiety, self-consciousness and emotional volatility
- Decreased extraversion – reduced sociability, cheerfulness and energy
- Decreased conscientiousness – diminished diligence, persistence and dependability when bullying status changed over time
Interestingly, cumulative bullying experiences did not significantly affect agreeableness or openness, though shorter-term studies have suggested such links. This indicates that while bullying may have immediate effects on behaviours like cooperation or curiosity, only some traits are altered in a lasting way.
The implications are profound. Personality traits are often seen as stable, yet this research shows that workplace experiences can fundamentally alter them. The findings underline how bullying does not just affect well-being and performance in the moment but can erode the psychological resources people carry forward in their careers and lives.
For leaders, this highlights the importance of proactive prevention and robust interventions. Primary measures to eliminate bullying must always be prioritised. Where bullying has occurred, organisations must also consider how best to support recovery, including through high-quality counselling and conflict management approaches.
This research underscores why inclusive leadership is vital. Leaders who can create climates of respect, fairness and constructive conflict resolution not only reduce immediate harm but also protect the long-term development of their people.
At Inclusive Leadership Company, our work focuses on equipping leaders with the evidence-based skills to foster these environments.
You can read the original article here: https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2025.25514899. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aas8827
