People who are bullied at work often become stressed and anxious, leaving them less able to stand up for themselves and more vulnerable to further bullying, a new study has found.

According to UK and Spanish researchers, this kind of abuse wears it victims down, making them an ‘easy target' for further bullying.

They noted that the link between bullying and the psychological impact it has on its victim ‘is much more complex than expected'.

"We found that being exposed to workplace bullying leads to deteriorated mental health and decreased wellbeing. But at the same time, showing anxious behaviour puts the victim in a weak position and makes them an easy target - leading to a spiral of abuse," explained Dr Ana Sanz Vergel of the University of East Anglia.

The researchers questioned almost 350 employees about their experiences of bullying and any subsequent anxiety. Different types of bullying in the workplace include harassment and socially excluding someone on an ongoing basis.

The study found that workplace bullying leads to poor health ‘because the victim is exposed to a very stressful situation, resulting in anxiety and lack of vigour'.

As a result, the employee may simply have less energy to respond to difficult situations and they may view the working environment much more negatively. This may lead to them receiving less support from colleagues and supervisors.

The researchers suggested that as well as tackling the bullies themselves, victims should be given an opportunity to learn skills in how to cope with difficult situations.

"We are by no means victim-blaming here. Clearly employers need to have strong policies against workplace bullying. But training programmes to help victims learn coping mechanisms could help to break the vicious cycle," Dr Sanz Vergel commented.

Details of these findings are published in Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal.