Research: Toxic Workplace Environments, Toxic Managers, and Workplace Bullying

I have devoted a considerable portion of my Counseling and Career Development practice and more than 30 years of research to helping individuals have healthy workplace experiences and move away from jobs that are injurious to their mental and physical health. The resources below are provided to help my visitors assess and further study the impact of toxic workplaces and bullying.

(Note: For access to published academic journal resources on these subjects, scroll further down the page)

General References

• {NEW} Why Every Leader Needs to Worry about Toxic Culture (2022), by Donald Sull, Charles Sull, William Cipolli and Caio Brighenti, published in the MIT Sloan Management Review
• {NEW} Toxic Culture is Driving the Great Resignation (2022), by Donald Sull, Charles Sull, and Ben Zweig, published by the Association of Change Management Professionals/Northern California
• {NEW} The Toxic “cut-throat” Culture that Drives out Workers (2022), by Alex Christian, from BBC Worklife
• {NEW} How Managers can Change Toxic Workplaces and Build Effective Teams (2022), by Kara Dennison, from Forbes Magazine
• {NEW} The 5 Biggest Red Flags of a Toxic Culture, According to an MIT Study of more than 1 million Glassdoor Reviews (2022), by Jessica Stillman, published in Inc. Magazine
• {NEW} These are the signs that you’re in a toxic work environment (2022), by Sarah Molano, from CNN Health
• {NEW} Job Burnout: How to Spot it and Take Action, by Mayo Clinic Staff (2021)
• 10 Signs That You’re in a Toxic Work Environment, by Amanda Deiratani, (Team Bonding, June 2021)
• Leadership and Mental Illness in Higher Education: Empowering Faculty and Staff through Self-Management and Training (2021), by Dr. Mignette Y. Dorsey, presented for the National Organization for Human Services
• 7 Tips for Dealing with a Toxic Work Environment, by Sarah Sticfvater, (Pure Wow, May 2021)
• The 10 Habits of Highly Toxic Bosses: How to Identify a Toxic Manager in Your Life, by Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D., published in Psychology Today
• How Do You Know if You Work for a Toxic Manager? They Will Do Any of these 8 Things Daily, by Marcel Schwantes, published in Inc.com 
• Toxic Femininity: Machiavellian Mary in the Workplace, by Shoba Sreenivasan, Ph.D., and Linda E. Weinberger, Ph.D., published in Psychology Today
• Fatal Leadership Approaches: Can Leadership Kill?, by Stewart Clegg, published in Manage Magazine
• Confused About Successful Jerks? Get to Know the Dark Triad, by Noam Shpancer, Ph.D., published in Psychology Today
• The Most Detrimental Health Implications of a Toxic Work Environment, by Raven Ishak (2019), from Blossom DIY
• 5 Signs You’re in a Toxic Workplace, by Emilie Aries, published in Forbes
• How to Deal with an Authoritarian-Like Boss (2017), by Kimberly Giles, from Forbes
• {NEW} 2021 Workplace Bullying Institute National Survey (2021), by Gary Namie, PhD, executive director of the Workplace Bullying Institute
• Workplace Bullying Institute Channel on Youtube, by Dr. Gary Namie 
• Is Your Boss a True Bully? How to Tell and What to Do About It (2017), by Kathy Caprino, published in Forbes
• {NEW} Bullying and Corporate Psychopaths at Work: Clive Boddy at TED.HanzeUniversity (2017, video), from TEDxTalks on Youtube
• Organizational Culture: The Neuroscience of Trust (2017) by Paul J. Zak, published in the Harvard Business Review 
• The Rise of Toxic Leaders and Toxic Workplaces (2016), by Ray Williams 
• How Toxic Leaders Destroy People as Well as Organizations (2016), by Professor Theo Veldsman, published in The Conversation
• How Can You Maintain Your Sanity in a Toxic Workplace? (2016), by Elisabeth Cotton, from the UK series on Surviving Work
  
  

Academic Literature

Research on these topics comes from a variety of different disciplines and in times ahead I intend to expand inquiry in the fields of organizational psychology and workplace mental health studies.

2022

• {NEW} Fragile or Robust? Differential Effects of Gender Threats in the Workplace among Men and Women (2022), by Keith Leavitt, et. al, published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
• {NEW} Mental Health Concerns Prelude the Great Resignation: Evidence from Social Media (2022), by R. Maria Rio-Chanona, et. al, published in the Harvard University Growth Lab, August 2022
• {NEW} Workaholism and the Enactment of Bullying Behavior at Work: A Prospective Analysis (2022), by Christian Balducci, et. al, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• {NEW} The Corrosive Workplace: The Human Resource Management Challenge (2022), by Hannah Meacham, et. al, published in The Emerald Handbook of Work, Workplaces and Disruptive Issues in Human Resource Management
• {NEW} The Last Resort: Workplace Bullying and the Consequences of Changing Jobs (2022), by Michael Rosander, et. al, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
• {NEW} Workplace Bullying in Academia: A Conditional Process Model (2022), by Alan K. Goodboy, et. al, published in the journal Management Communication Quarterly
• {NEW} How Leaders can Change a Toxic Organizational Culture (2022), by Tammy Lear, from white paper published in the Granite State College M.S. in Leadership Capstone Projects
• {NEW} Workplace Bullying as an Organisational Issue: Aligning Climate and Leadership (2022), by Geoff Plimmer, et. al, published in Work & Stress: An International Journal of Work, Health & Organisations
• {NEW} The Impact on the Psychological Health of Employees through Egotism of Managers Resorting to Workplace Bullying and Destructive Leadership–A Hypothetical Case Study Approach (2022), by Smita Singh, et. al, published in the journal ECS Transactions
• {NEW} Anger, Personality Traits and Psychopathological Symptoms in Subjects Exposed to Negative Interpersonal Actions in Workplaces: An Observational Study (2022), by Barbara Forresi, et. al, published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• {NEW} Associations Between Workplace Bullying and Later Benefit Recipiency among Workers with Common Mental Disorders (2022), by Camilla Lovvik, et. al, published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• {NEW} Understanding Workplace Bullying: A Conceptual Review (2022), by Rajnish Kumar Misra & Divya Sharma, published in the International Journal of Management Practice
• {NEW} Comparing the Relationship of Workplace Bullying and PTSD in Bisexual versus Monosexual Workers (2022), published in the journal Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity
• {NEW} Workplace Stress and Health: The Connection to Quality Management (2022), by Stefan Lagrosen, published in the journal Total Quality Management & Business Excellence
• {NEW} An Empirical Examination of Herzberg’s Theory in the 21st Century Workplace: Organizational Psychology Re-Examined (2022), by Michael Mitsakis & Michael Galanakis, published in the journal Psychology
• {NEW} Organizational Impact of a Toxic Personality (2022), by Ryan White, from white paper published in the Granite State College M.S. in Leadership Capstone Projects
• {NEW} The Impact on the Psychological Health of Employees through Egotism of Managers Resorting to Workplace Bullying and Destructive Leadership: A Hypothetic Case Study Approach (2022), by Smita Singh, Saurabh Jain, & Shruti Parashar, published in the journal ECS–The Electrochemical Society
• {NEW} Filling a Theoretical “Black Box” Between Workplace Bullying and Poor Attitudes: Psychological Contract Violation, Work Injustice, and Negative Environmental Contagion (2022), by Sean R. Valentine, et. al, published in the Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal
• {NEW} Workplace Bullying: Is There a Difference by Enterprise Size? (2022), by C. Lagabrielle, et. al, published in the journal International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• {NEW} Organizational Impact of a Toxic Personality (2022), graduate thesis by R. White, Granite State University
  
  2021
  
  
• {NEW} Stop Making Excuses for Toxic Bosses (2021), by Shawn McClean, et. al, published in the Harvard Business Review
• {NEW} Twenty Years on the dark side: Six Lessons about Bad Leadership (2021), by Robert Hogan, et. al, published in the Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research
• {NEW} Toxic Leadership and Workplace Bullying: The Role of Followers and Possible Coping Strategies (2021), by Bekir Emre Kurtulmus, published in the textbook The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being (Satinder K. Dhiman, ed.)
• {NEW} Toxic Leadership: Managing Its Poisonous Effects on Employees and Organizational Outcomes (2021), by Emem Laguda, published in the textbook The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being (Satinder K. Dhiman, ed.)
• {NEW} Why Some Leaders Qualify for Hate: An Empirical Examination through the Lens of Followers’ Perspective (2021), by Gunjan Sharma & Kushagra  Kulshreshtha, published in the International Journal of Organisational Analysis
• The Stressful, Hostile, and Toxic Workplace: An Advanced Understanding of a Common Clinical Complaint (2021), by Andrew O. Brown, et. al, published in the journal Psychiatric Annals
• Performance Consequences of Workplace Ostracism (2021), by Sharon Glazer, et. al, published in the textbook Workplace Ostracism: Its Nature, Consequences, and Consequences
• The Toxic Relationship between Laissez-Faire Leadership and Employee Burnout: No Longer a Well-Kept Secret (2021), by Terence Leary & Matthew Miller, published in the International Leadership Journal
• A Consequence of Toxic Leadership on Employees’ Behaviour: An Indepth Literature Review (2021), by Emily Maria K. Jose, published in the journal SPAST Abstracts
• Workplace Bullying and Gender: An Overview of Empirical Findings (2021), published in the text Dignity and Inclusion at Work (Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment series)
• The Presence of Workplace Bullying and Harassment Worldwide (2021), by Jose M. Leon-Perez, et. al, published in Handbooks of Workplace Bullying, Emotional Abuse and Harassment
• Exposure to Bullying Behaviours, Resilience, and Return to Work Self-Efficacy in Patients on or at Risk of Sick Leave (2021), by Sarah Helene Aarestad, et. al, published in the journal Industrial Health
• Workplace Bullying and Mental Health (2021), by Paul Maurice Conway, et. al, published in the text Pathways of Job-related Negative Behavior
• The Influence of Target Personality in the Development of Workplace Bullying (2021), by Iselin Reknes, et. al, published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
• Victims in the Dark Shadows: A Model of Toxic Leadership (2021), by Daryl Watkins & Steven Walker, published in the Journal of Organizational Psychology
• Death by Authoritative Leadership and Micro-Management (2021), by L.R. Morris & W.M. Edmonds, published in the book When Leadership Fails: Individual, Group, and Organizational Lessons from the Worst Workplace Experiences
• Monsters, Inc.: Toxic Leadership and Engagement (2021), by Ngozi Igbokwe, et. al, published in the book When Leadership Fails: Individual, Group, and Organizational Lessons from the Worst Workplace Experiences
• Understanding the Followers of Toxic Leaders: Toxic Illusio and Personal Uncertainty (2021), by Aybike Mergen & Mustafa F. Ozbilgin, published in the International Journal of Management Reviews
• Sexual Harassment Training Focused Solely on Protecting Organizations from Lawsuits Won’t Change a Toxic Culture for Women to an Inclusive One (2021), by Darrell Norman Burrell, et. al, published in the International Journal of Public Sociology and Sociotherapy
• Toxic Leadership and Workplace Bullying: The Role of Followers and Possible Coping Strategies (2021), by Bekir Emre Kurtulmus, published in The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being
• How Toxic Workplace Environment Effects Employee Engagement: The Mediating Role of Organizational Support and Employee Wellbeing (2021), by Samma Faiz Rasool, et. al, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Ethical Behavior is the Antidote to Toxic Culture (2021), by Neta Meidav, published in the journal Strategic HR Review
• The Dark Triad May be Not so Dark: Exploring why ‘Toxic” Leaders are so Common–With Some Implications for Scholarship and Education (2021), by Jeffrey Pfeffer, published in Psychological Inquiry: A Topical Journal for Mental Health Professionals
  
  2019-2020
  
  
• Conflict in the Workplace: A 10-year Review of Toxic Leadership in Higher Education (2020), by Natesha Smith & Imani Fredricks-Lowman, published in the International Journal of Leadership in Education
• Empathy-enhancing Antidotes for Interpersonally Toxic Leaders (2020), by K. Nowack & P. Zap, published in the Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research
• Workplace Bullying and Suicidal Ideation: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Cohort Study of Mid-Aged Workers (2020), by Liana S. Leach, et. al, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• How Toxic Workplace Environment Effects the Employee Engagement: The Mediating Role of Organizational Support and Employee Well-being (2020), by Samma Faiz Rasool, et. al, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Toxic Leadership: Managing Its Poisonous Effects on Employees and
• Employee Well-Being Under Corporate Psychopath Leaders (2020), by Clive R. Boddy, et. al, published in The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being
• Impact of Workplace Bullying on Employee’s Mental Health and Self-Worth (2020), by Susmita Suggala, Sujo Thomas, & Sonal Kureshi, from The Palgrave Handbook of Workplace Well-Being
• Work-related Psychosocial Risk Factors for Stress-related Mental Disorders: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2020), by Henk F Fan der Molen et. al, published in the journal BMJ Open
• Workplace Bullying Laws in the United States and Canada (2020), by Devi Akella, published in the text Understanding Workplace Bullying
• Clinical Characteristics of Patients Seeking Treatment for Common Mental Disorders Presenting with Workplace Bullying Experiences (2020), by Sarah Helene Aarestad, et al., published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology
• What Causes Toxic Workplace Situations? A Focus on the Individual, Situational, and Systemic Drivers (2020), by Teresa A. Daniel, published in the text Organizational Toxin Handlers: The Critical Role of HR, OD, and Coaching Practitioners in Managing Toxic Workplace Situations
• Toxic Leadership: The Most Menacing form of Leadership (2019), by Nivedita Singh, Santoshi Sengupta and Santosh Dev, published in Dark Sides of Organizational Behavior and Leadership (2019), Edited by Maria Fors Brandebo.
• ‘I could help, but…’: A Dynamic Sensemaking Model of Workplace Bullying Bystanders (2019), by Kara Ng, et. al, published in the journal Human Relations 
• Toxic Workplace Cultures Hurt Workers and Company Profits (2019), by Beth Mirza, published by The Society for Human Resource Management
• Identifying Toxic Leadership and Building Worker Resilience (2019), by Gary L. Winn & Ava C. Dykes, published in the journal Professional Safety
• Women, Rule-Breaking, and The Triple Bind (2019), by June Carbone, Naomi R. Cahn, and Nancy Levit, published in the journal GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
• The Employee Perspective: A Phenomenological Approach to the After-Effects of Toxic Leadership (2019), by Courtenay P. Brown, PhD. Dissertation, Sullivan University
• Managing Toxic Leaders: An Exploration of Human Resources Management’s Role in
  Mitigating the Impact of Leader Imposed Toxicity on Organization, Individuals, and
  other Stakeholders (2019, introduction only), by Margaret E. Gary, DBA, Saint Leo University
• The Mediation Role of Toxic Leadership in the Effect of Job Stress on Job Satisfaction (2019), by H. Tezcan Uysal, published in the International Journal of Business
• Conflict in the Workplace: A 10-Year Review of Toxic Leadership in Higher Education (2019), by Natesha Smith and Imani Fredricks-Lowman, published in the International Journal of Leadership in Education
• Toxic Leadership and the Masculinity Contest Culture: How ‘Win or Die’ Cultures Breed Abusive Leadership (2018), by Kenneth Matos, Olivia (Mandy) O’Neill, and Xue Lei, published in the Journal of Social Issues
• The Dark Side of Leadership and Management (2018), by Alma Harris & Michelle Jones, published in the journal School Leadership and Management
• Egos Gone Wild: Threat Detection and the Domains Indicative of Toxic Leadership (2018), by Matthew S. Oborgast, PhD., Doctoral Dissertation Completed at the University of South Florida 
• A Descriptive Literature Review of Harmful Leadership Styles: Definitions, Commonalities, Measurements, Negative Impacts, and Ways to Improve these Harmful Leadership Styles (2017), by Wallace A. Burns, published in the Creighton Journal of Interdisciplinary Leadership
• An Exploration of Human Resource Personnel and Toxic Leadership (2016), by Sabrina Michele Maxwell, Ph.D., doctoral dissertation, Walden University
• Toxic Leadership in Context(2016), by Gary S. Metcalf, Ph.D. and Teresa A. Daniel, Ph.D., published in the Journal of the International Society for the Systems Sciences
• Can Work Make you Mentally Ill? A systematic meta-review of work-related risk factors for common mental health problems (2016) by Samuel Harvey, et. al, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine 
• An Evolutionary Perspective on Toxic Leadership (2016), by Lucia Ovidia VREJA, Sergiu BĂLAN, Loredana Cornelia BOȘCA, published in the journal Management and Economics Review 
• The Enigma of Adult Bullying in Higher Education: A Research-Based Conceptual Framework (2016), by Chris Piotrowski and Chula King, published in the journal Education 
• Book Review, Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at Time (2016), by Richard Joseph, published in the journal Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation
  
  2004-2015
  
  
• Workplace Bullying and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis (2015), by Bart Verkuil et al., published in the international Public Library of Science
• Toxic Leadership in Educational Organizations(2014), by James E. Green, published in Education Leadership Review 
• How to Cleanse a Toxic Workplace, by Kirk Lawrence (2014), from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler School of Business
• Toxic Leadership: Tracing the Destructive Trail (2014), by Sunita Mehta and G.C.Maheshwari, published in the International Journal of Management 
• Toxic Leadership in Educational Organizations (2014), by James E. Green, published in Education Leadership Review 
• Workplace Bullying as an Antecedent of Mental Health Problems: A Five-Year Prospective and Representative Study, by Sta˚le Einarsen & Morten Birkeland Nielsen (2014), published in the International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health 
• Company on the Couch: Unveiling Toxic Behavior in Dysfunctional Organizations (2008), by Alan Goldman, published in the Journal of Management Inquiry 
• The Tyranny of Toxic Managers: Applying Emotional Intelligence to deal with Difficult Personalities (2004), by Roy Lubit, published in Ivey Business Journal 
  
  

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