Workplace Bullying in Taiwan: A Meta-Analysis of Multilevel Impacts on Employees and Organizations

This study investigates workplace bullying in Taiwan through a meta-analysis of 30 quantitative studies published between 2009 and 2024. Growing awareness of mental health issues has highlighted the prevalence of bullying, emotional coercion, and inappropriate treatment in Taiwanese workplaces, resulting in employee distress, rising turnover, and organizational dysfunction. Yet past research has largely focused on single variables or specific groups, lacking cumulative quantitative evidence. Systematic searches were conducted in the Airiti Library database (up to October 31, 2024). Using screening and coding procedures, this study synthesized effect sizes to examine the associations between workplace bullying and three domains: work-related psychological and behavioral outcomes, individual characteristics, and organizational environments and support systems. Results showed a moderate positive association with work-related outcomes (r = .215), indicating higher turnover intention, burnout, emotional exhaustion, and psychological strain. Bullying also demonstrated moderate negative associations with individual characteristics (r = − .204) and with organizational environments and support systems (r = − .112), suggesting diminished personal psychological resources and greater bullying likelihood in contexts with weak supervisory support, ethical climate, and safety culture. Overall, the findings confirm that workplace bullying produces multilevel harm to both individuals and organizations. Regarding limitations, future research should combine longitudinal and cross-cultural designs to clarify underlying mechanisms and evaluate effective anti-bullying interventions.