"Non-violent forms of workplace aggression such as incivility and bullying are not illegal, leaving victims to fend for themselves," lead author M. Sandy Hershcovis of the University of Manitoba says in a statement.

Hershcovis and co-author Julian Barling of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, reviewed 110 studies conducted over 21 years that compared the consequences of employees' experience of sexual harassment and workplace aggression.

Bullying included persistently criticizing employees' work; yelling; repeatedly reminding employees of mistakes; spreading gossip or lies; ignoring or excluding workers; and insulting employees' habits, attitudes or private life.

Employees who experienced bullying, incivility or interpersonal conflict were more likely to quit their jobs, have lower well-being, be less satisfied with their jobs and have less satisfying relations with their bosses than employees who were sexually harassed, the researchers finds.

The finding were presented at the Seventh International Conference on Work, Stress and Health.