Final answer:
Harassment, whether in the physical workplace or online, can result in significant emotional and psychological harm. This often includes feelings of humiliation, anxiety, and depression, as well as the potential for physical harm in severe cases. The psychological effects are commonly reported and can deeply impact a victim's personal and professional life.
Step-by-step explanation:
Harassment can take many forms, and its consequences are broad and damaging. When considering which is most likely to increase as a result of harassment, we must understand that harassment can lead to both emotional harm and physical harm. In the workplace, sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances and requests for sexual favors, as well as other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that interferes with an individual's job performance or creates a hostile work environment. As a consequence, individuals may experience significant emotional harm, such as feelings of humiliation, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem, which can further lead to psychological harm including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In extreme cases, harassment has been known to escalate into physical violence, which can lead to both obvious and indirect physical harm.
Harassment is not limited to the physical realm; as online presence grows, incidents of cyberbullying and online harassment also increase, yielding similar emotional and psychological consequences. The impact of harassment is not only felt by the direct victims but also by those around them, possibly leading to social exclusion and a culture of silence due to the bystander effect.
Overall, while physical harm can result from harassment, the psychological harm and emotional distress are commonly reported and potentially long-lasting effects that can affect victims deeply and pervasively in their personal and professional lives.