Letter W
Workplace Bullying
For the Sunday-night dread that has a specific colleague's face on it. Books on surviving and leaving hostile working environments.
Dear reader,
For the Sunday-night dread that has a specific colleague's face on it. Books on surviving and leaving hostile working environments. If you have ever finished a book and thought, "how did they know?", that is the part of reading I care most about. This is a small collection of books about workplace bullying that I keep coming back to, and that readers keep telling me made a real difference. It gathers 2 fiction titles and 4 nonfiction titles.
You will find writers like Gary Namie & Ruth Namie, Robert I. Sutton, and David Graeber here, each one approaching workplace bullying in their own way. Some are practical and clear, some are messier and more personal, and a few simply keep you company on a hard evening. There is no right order to read them in. Start with whichever title sounds most like where you are today, and put anything down that feels too close for now.
One small note: these books are here as good company, not as a fix. They are not a replacement for therapy or medical care, but reading has been helping people make sense of themselves for a very long time, and the right book at the right moment can genuinely shift something.
Warmly,
Bijal x
Learn more about Bibliotherapy in my book, Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best books to read about workplace bullying?
A good place to start is the fiction, nonfiction, and poetry suggested in this reading list. They each explore this theme differently, so you can select what you are connecting with the most.
Can reading really help with workplace bullying?
Yes, although it should not be viewed as a substitute for therapy. The right book can help you articulate feelings you have struggled to explain, offer reassurance that you are not alone, and provide a new perspective. Sometimes that insight is exactly what you need; at other times, it can encourage you to seek further support.
Who curates the Workplace Bullying reading list?
Bijal Shah, a bibliotherapist, founder of Book Therapy and The Book Therapy Method and the author of Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading (Hachette, 2024). She has spent over ten years matching readers to books for all kinds of emotional and life themes, including workplace bullying.
Do I need a Book Therapy membership to see the full workplace bullying list?
Yes. The full Workplace Bullying reading list, with my notes on each book, the covers and the personal reading tools, lives inside the Book Therapy membership. You also get the whole A to Z of Book Prescriptions, the journalling, and writing tools and reading progress tracking.
Are these workplace bullying books suitable if I've never read anything on the topic before?
Yes. The list is deliberately diverse in order to ensure there is something for everyone, whether that's a short memoir, a poem to sit with over a cup of tea, or a novel to properly disappear into. If something feels too close to what you're going through right now, you have the option to put it down. And another book on the list might be more helpful.
Related reading lists
If Workplace Bullying resonates, these companion themes from the A–Z of Book Prescriptions may meet you next.
Letter W
Worth & Self-Esteem
For the person still measuring themselves against a rigged ruler. Reads on choosing your own units.
Letter W
Work & Purpose
For anyone wondering what their working life is actually for. Writing on money, meaning, and time that is honest about all three.
Letter W
Wisdom
Not information. The slower, harder thing. Books on seeing clearly and choosing well.
Letter W
Wellbeing
The unglamorous architecture of a good life. Sleep, connection, movement, meaning, and the small daily practices that build one.
Letter S
Soothing Literature
Books to read like a warm bath. Gentle, unhurried, and kind to a tired mind and a hard week.
Letter T
Therapeutic Literature
Novels and memoirs that quietly do what a good therapy hour does. They hand you back to yourself.