Wellbeing and relationships

Professional confidence and shared morale

Bullying can affect the relationships teachers need to work effectively. Student or parent targeting may disturb trust and safety; collegial exclusion may also restrict access to information. Kollerová et al. (2023) found associations between bullying, disruptive student behaviour and teacher exhaustion; leadership support was associated with less exhaustion. Longmuir et al. (2025) linked perceived unsafety with lower role satisfaction and stronger intention to leave the profession. Teachers’ mental health may also be affected, with verbal abuse and threats associated with increased anxiety and stress that can interfere with their work and contribute to thoughts of changing schools or leaving teaching (McMahon et al., 2024). Phillips (2025) places teachers’ mental health within the wider social and cultural conditions of their work. For Wrenvale, this supports addressing harmful working relationships and school practices alongside offering individual support.

Online humiliation may make a teacher question whether students and families trust their judgement. Anticipating further exposure may make ordinary interactions more demanding, and colleagues may become cautious about visibility. These are interpretive possibilities informed by workplace cyberbullying research (Coyne et al., 2017). Broader workplace evidence links bullying with mental health difficulties, but cannot diagnose an individual teacher (Verkuil et al., 2015).

Identity, contribution and group patterns

Erikson’s theory offers a lens on identity and contribution, not a fixed explanation of behaviour by age. Career stage and age do not always correspond, so assumptions based on age may overlook a teacher’s existing strengths or need for support. Research has identified age-related stereotypes among teachers, including assumptions about technological ability, innovation and classroom-management expertise (Geeraerts et al., 2021). Such expectations may leave a mature-age beginning teacher feeling embarrassed to seek guidance, or a younger colleague struggling to have their expertise recognised. Challenging these dynamics can also feel risky when teachers fear that speaking up will damage relationships or expose them to further judgement, highlighting the importance of psychological safety within staff teams (Edmondson & Bransby, 2023).

Family Systems asks how tension, alliances and information move through a group. If a concern becomes gossip, attention may shift from conduct to the targeted person’s supposed sensitivity. A school remains a workplace with formal responsibilities; this analogy does not allocate equal blame or replace a fair investigation (Bowen Center, n.d.). Direct peer-reviewed application to teacher bullying needs further research.

When harm extends across settings

Intimate family violence, other family violence and workplace bullying may combine to reduce predictable contact, social connection and opportunities to seek help. Effects vary; the work and home interface deserves careful support (Wathen et al., 2015). Viewed through Erikson’s (1963) theory, exposure to harm at both home and school may threaten a teacher’s sense of identity, connection and meaningful contribution, leaving fewer opportunities to regain confidence and emotional security. Family systems theory offers a lens for understanding how distress can carry across interconnected relationships, potentially increasing withdrawal, tension or alliances within staff teams, without implying that schools are families or that responsibility for abuse is shared (Bowen Center for the Study of the Family, n.d.). Colleagues may also experience distress and reduced job satisfaction when witnessing bullying, suggesting that its wellbeing consequences can extend beyond the individual targeted (Nielsen et al., 2024). From a social learning perspective, repeated aggression that appears tolerated may teach staff and students that intimidation is acceptable and speaking up is unsafe, potentially reinforcing a school culture of silence rather than mutual support (Bandura, 1977b).