New research suggests that workplace bullying grinds victims down and makes them an "easy target" for further abuse.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia found that a "spiral" of abuse in which the victims of bullying become anxious, leaving them less able to stand up for themselves and more vulnerable to further harassment.

Examples of bullying at work include harassing, offending, or socially excluding someone repeatedly over a period of around six months.

"This study shows that the relationship between workplace bullying and the psychological impact on victims is much more complex than expected," researcher Dr. Ana Sanz Vergel said in a statement. "Examples of Bullying at work include harassing, offending, or socially excluding someone repeatedly over a period of around six months."

Bullying at work leads to poor health because the victim is exposed to a very stressful situation - resulting in anxiety and lack of vigor. Researchers wanted to see whether deteriorated health could make the employee an easy target for bullying. For example, the victim may have less energy to respond to difficult situations and therefore receive less support from colleagues or supervisors.

"Another explanation is the so-called 'gloomy perception mechanism' in which anxious employees may evaluate their environment more negatively," Sanz Vergel said.

For the study, researchers tested their theory on 348 Spanish employees. Participants were interviewed about their experiences of bullying and assessed for anxiety and vigor.

"We found that being exposed to workplace bullying leads to deteriorated mental health and decreased well-being. But at the same time, showing anxious behavior puts the victim in a weak position and makes them an easy target - leading to a spiral of abuse," Sanz Vergel said. "We are by no means victim-blaming here. Clearly employers need to have strong policies against workplace bullying. But training programs to help victims learn coping mechanisms could help to break the vicious cycle."

The findings are detailed in the journal Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal.