Research
Findings from a two-year mixed-methods study of 76 women across six countries.
When Reporting Fails: Execution Visibility Across EVLN Pathways for Workplace Bullying Targets
This study examines how response visibility is associated with retaliation risk in workplace targeting cases.
Background
The Gap in the Literature
Workplace bullying research has made enormous progress in the past two decades. We know far more than we once did about why bullying happens, who perpetrates it, what organizational conditions enable it, and what it costs in terms of human suffering and economic impact.
But there is a gap.
Most of the existing research focuses on prevention, organizational policy, and the experiences of targets while mistreatment is occurring. What is conspicuously underdeveloped in the literature is target-centered analysis of how response visibility may shape risk once formal systems fail. When formal systems fail, when the institutional response protects itself, or when retaliation follows a good-faith complaint, what then?
The targets in these situations are not passive. They are making strategic decisions under extraordinary pressure. They are weighing risks, calculating tradeoffs, and choosing among imperfect options. Yet the field has offered relatively little target-centered analysis for women making decisions under active pressure.
This study was designed to fill that gap.
When institutional protections fail, how is execution visibility, overt versus covert, associated with outcomes for workplace bullying targets across different response pathways?
This research does not argue for silence. It examines how visibility, attribution, and timing were associated with different outcomes in this sample.
Theoretical Foundation
The EVLN Framework
This study builds on the established Exit, Voice, Loyalty, Neglect (EVLN) framework from organizational psychology, which describes how employees typically respond to dissatisfaction in the workplace. In the context of workplace bullying, these four pathways look like this:
Voice
Taking action to change the situation. In this study, Voice included both visible and less visible forms of action. A response could become overt when it was visible and attributable, or remain covert when it was not immediately traceable to the target.
Exit
Leaving the situation. This may include resigning, transferring, negotiating an exit, or otherwise leaving the environment where the bullying is occurring.
Loyalty
Remaining in the role while continuing to perform. In this study, loyalty included staying, maintaining performance, and attempting to preserve position while the situation continued.
Neglect
Disengaging while remaining. In this study, neglect included reduced investment, withdrawal, or lowered engagement while still remaining in the organization.
The existing EVLN research helps describe the pathway a target uses. What it does not fully explain is how visible and attributable that response becomes, or how that visibility is associated with outcomes. That is the question at the center of this study.
Academic Positioning
Conference Presentation
This research has been accepted for presentation at the International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment (IAWBH) 2026 Conference in Canberra, Australia, following peer review.
The IAWBH Conference, held biennially since 1998, is the leading international forum for research on workplace bullying, harassment, and related phenomena. It convenes researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the world to present and discuss the latest scholarship in the field.
Sources
Key References
Cortina, L. M., & Magley, V. J. (2003). Raising voice, risking retaliation: Events following interpersonal mistreatment in the workplace. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 8(4), 247-265.
Ellis, K. E. (2026, June 2-5). When reporting fails: Execution visibility across EVLN pathways for workplace bullying targets. 15th Biennial International Association on Workplace Bullying and Harassment Conference, Canberra, Australia.
Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states. Harvard University Press.
Namie, G., & Namie, R. (2009). The bully at work: What you can do to stop the hurt and reclaim your dignity on the job (2nd ed.). Sourcebooks.
Rusbult, C. E., Farrell, D., Rogers, G., & Mainous, A. G. (1988). Impact of exchange variables on exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect: An integrative model of responses to declining job satisfaction. Academy of Management Journal, 31(3), 599-627. https://doi.org/10.2307/256461
Withey, M. J., & Cooper, W. H. (1989). Predicting exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect. Administrative Science Quarterly, 34(4), 521-539.
Workplace Bullying Institute. (2024). U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey.
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