Work
Shouldn't
Hurt
Physically, Mentally, Emotionally
Coming November
About The Author
Liza Collins is an author, speaker, and trauma-preventative leadership strategist who is redefining how we understand harm at work. With over three decades of experience across the NHS and global health systems, and a Master’s in Organisational Sociology, Liza brings a rare blend of science, systems thinking and human insight to expose a truth most leaders miss: Bullying and burnout aren’t just cultural issues, they’re biological ones.
Her work bridges neuroscience, lived experience and systemic insight to reveal how chronic stress rewires the body, relationships and performance. But she doesn’t stop at awareness; she equips leaders to prevent harm at the root.
As the author of The Physiology of Bullying, Liza offers more than a diagnosis. She delivers a blueprint for cultural repair, one rooted in safety, dignity and human flourishing. Her frameworks have shaped reforms across healthcare and sparked a new leadership conversation grounded in prevention, not just response.
Bold yet compassionate, Liza partners with individuals, teams and boards ready to stop managing harm and start eliminating it. Her mission is to build the future of leadership on a foundation of nervous system safety, relational trust and systemic accountability.
This isn’t just a new model. It’s a movement.
The Physiology of Bullying
What if the true cost of bullying isn’t just emotional — but biological?
In The Physiology of Bullying, Liza Collins exposes the hidden science of workplace harm: how it rewires the brain, floods the body with stress hormones and traps entire organisations in chronic cycles of fear, burnout, and collapse.
This is a leadership wake-up call. Bullying is not just “bad behaviour.” Burnout is not personal failure. These are the physiological consequences of unsafe systems and failed leadership cultures.
Drawing on over three decades in NHS and global healthcare leadership, a Master’s in organisational sociology, and deep trauma science expertise, Liza reveals why traditional policies fail, why culture efforts fall short and what must truly shift if we’re serious about protecting people.
This isn’t another book about difficult people. It’s a blueprint for trauma-preventative leadership, relational repair and the kind of culture change that doesn’t just stick— it rewires.
“Liza Collins weaves lived experience with trauma science to reveal how workplace bullying hijacks the nervous system. Drawing on Polyvagal Theory, she demonstrates that physiological state is the intervening variable shaping thought, feeling and behaviour. Fight, flight, freeze and fawn are not weaknesses but adaptive survival responses. By naming the body’s truth—its alarms, collapses, and longing for safety—she reframes bullying as a physiological crisis. Safety is the treatment, and this book charts a path toward healing, cultural repair, and human flourishing.”
Prof Stephen Porges, PhD, Author of The Polyvagal Theory
What is so powerful about Liza Collins' book "The Physiology of Bullying" is that she has written a playbook for those willing to go into battle with the outdated, broken bullying system and defeat it. This is a book that makes the policy and procedure manual gathering dust on the shelf look static. This book is a play-by-play guide on how to transform a dysfunctional culture into a 21st-century trauma-informed culture. Collins' extensive experience in leadership keeps the playbook real and applicable. Her knowledge of the way trauma subtly infects workplaces galvanises all who read her playbook to be more alert, more informed, and far more prepared to protect all from the virus. “Collins' "Physiology of Bullying" is laser-focused on maltreatment at work so that it functions as a guide advising you each step of the way to see what's wrong and join her in practical solutions. Her playbook, full of strategies and encouragement, lays out a path forward, a way to exit the old way and embrace a new way of leading, administering, and interacting with one another at work. From C-suite to new employees, the "Physiology of Bullying" applies and is readable and doable. The scenarios throughout remind the reader that this is about people, cruelty, and trauma. Collins' never looks away from that painful truth. Her playbook encourages readers to develop the same courage that sets her work apart and provides a new way of leading with people in mind, with empathy and compassion, and a commitment to resilient health.”
Dr Jen Fraser, PhD, Author of The Bullied Brain and The Gaslit Brain
“Liza Collins offers a lifeline to anyone who has experienced bullying at work. With warmth, wisdom and clarity, she gives voice to the pain, confusion and isolation that workplace bullying creates and, crucially, to the possibility of recovery. This book validates lived experience, explains the deep emotional and physical impact of harm, and calls for organisational accountability. Both compassionate and practical, it will help individuals make sense of what happened and inspire leaders to build safer, kinder workplaces. A powerful, courageous and deeply necessary book.”
Dr Beth Mosley, MBE, Clinical Psychologist, Author of Happy Families
“Liza sets out in detail the unacceptable, traumatic physical and psychological effects bullying has on her and does have on our bodies when subjected to bullying. Having experienced this myself both at school and then in the workplace, I am only too aware of how physically paralysing and mentally exhausting bullying is and the scars it leaves behind; to say you are never the same again would be an understatement.”
Lisa Seagroatt, ACIPD, Founder HR Fit For Purpose, Author of Bandits in the Boardroom
“Excellent. I recommend Liza’s book as it covers an aspect of bullying we don't focus on enough.”
Roger Kline, OBE, Author, Research Fellow, Middlesex University Business School.
“An excellent overview of how workplace bullying is a problem that both injures individuals and damages organisations. This will be a valuable resource to anyone seeking to understand the true extent of the harm caused by workplace bullying.”
Nicki Eyre, FRSA, Founder & Chief Campaigner, Stop Hurt at Work
“A powerful book that so many people can relate to. It highlights the impact that bullying has on our bodies, minds and spirits. We are in a crisis and this book is a call for strategic change. People need to be valued and respected. Compassion and kindness are the common threads that need to exist in all managers. Bullies must be held accountable. Bullies must be stopped.”
Jane Cook, RGN, QN, Health and Social Care Clinical Leader
“Liza Collins has written a groundbreaking book. The Physiology of Bullying is one of the most important and courageous books of our time, fearlessly naming workplace bullying as a public health crisis and offering a pathway to both healing and cultural transformation. With depth, compassion and deep expertise, Liza reframes bullying as a physiological crisis that reshapes the body, mind and culture of organisations. She bridges lived experience with science to reveal why bullying is not just a “difficult workplace issue,” and translates this to a compelling call for change that no leader can ignore. Bold, brilliant, and profoundly necessary, The Physiology of Bullying is a courageous and timely contribution to the conversation on workplace harm, that will reshape how we understand workplace culture and inspire a new generation of leaders to create environments where both people and organisations can truly flourish.”
Dr Sidney Chandrasiri, CEO, Australian Institute of Health Executives
“This is a timely, courageous and necessary book. It reframes workplace bullying as a biological and cultural crisis with serious health, social and economic implications. Its biggest contribution is bridging lived experience and science, offering survivors validation and leaders a framework for reform. Strongly recommended as a reflection of the hidden harm of bullying and a map pointing towards healing and systemic change.”
Anthony Lawton - Author of Fit to Care and The AI Strategic Edge
“Bullying and harassment at work have long been known to harm our physical health, but Liza has brought this reality into sharp focus with a voice that is both rigorously evidence-based and deeply personal. By weaving lived experience into research, she creates something far more powerful than a paper or report: a work that speaks to the heart as much as the mind. This book illuminates a ‘hidden pandemic’ that quietly devastates countless lives while silently eroding the fabric of our workplaces and society. Liza not only reveals the problem with clarity and compassion but also explores its causes and far-reaching consequences, giving employees, employers, and communities the tools to respond with meaning and effectiveness. It arrives at a pivotal moment, when our understanding of leadership, psychological safety, relational healthcare, and neurodivergence has advanced more in the past three years than in the decades before. Liza brings these threads together in a way that is both urgent and overdue, producing a work that policy-makers, employers, and anyone touched by workplace bullying can no longer afford to ignore.”
Professor Dhakshana Sivayoganathan, Medical Director, Visiting Professor of Medical Leadership and Innovation at the University of Greater Manchester Medical School
“This book is a vital reminder that bullying is not just an emotional or social issue; it leaves lasting marks on our bodies and our health. Liza’s compassionate yet evidence-based approach aligns powerfully with our mission to create safer, kinder spaces for every individual in healthcare. Her courage to share her own lived experience and expose how deeply embedded bullying is within organisational culture, and why it must be recognised as a serious public health issue, makes this work both brave and bold. Her writing bridges science and humanity in a way that challenges leaders to act and empowers individuals to heal. A must-read for anyone committed to changing the culture of harm into one of care and connection.”
Emma Bates, Founder of Maria's Movement - Connecting Culture to Compassion
“Liza Collins’ excellent book reveals a deep truth: bullying in the workplace doesn’t just bruise our emotions, it changes how our bodies function. Drawing on her lived experience and research, Liza uncovers how fear, stress, and harm embed in the nervous system, affecting not just individuals but entire workplace cultures. Her central claim, that bullying is not simply an HR issue but a public health crisis, is a powerful and necessary reframing. One of the book’s great strengths is its honesty. Liza reminds every leader: “If you manage others, you’re influencing someone’s nervous system every single day. Are you leading them toward safety, or keeping them in survival mode?” This book offers hope. It champions the power of agency and collective voice. Liza doesn’t just diagnose harm, she points the way forward.” I strongly recommend The Physiology of Bullying to anyone who wants to understand the real impact of workplace trauma and who’s ready to do something about it.”
Mark Cole, Director, Author, Radical Organisation Development
Why You Need to Read
THIS BOOK
The Hidden Cost of
“Just Work”
Bullying isn’t just emotional. It’s physical. Learn how fear and stress reshape your body, mind and performance and why understanding this truth is the first step toward recovery.
Rethink Leadership for the Modern World
Great leadership begins with safety. Discover how compassionate, trauma-aware leadership builds trust, prevents burnout and transforms culture from fear to performance.
Find Yourself Again
After Harm
If you have ever questioned your worth after workplace harm, this book helps you make sense of what happened and shows you how to rebuild strength and self-trust.
The Future of Work
Starts Here
Workplace healing is everyone’s responsibility. Join the movement to build environments where dignity, safety and humanity are the foundation of success.
Keynotes That Redefine Leadership and Culture
Liza Collins delivers bold, evidence-based keynotes that challenge outdated leadership norms, exposing how workplace harm embeds in the body, damages trust and costs organisations their people.
Drawing on her expertise in trauma-preventative leadership, she equips audiences with the insight and tools to lead without harm.
Book Liza to speak at your event and spark the leadership shift your organisation needs, from reactive to preventative, from fear to trust, from harm to healing.
Get Your Copy of
The Physiology of Bullying
Bullying isn’t a behaviour issue. It’s a biological crisis.
This book reveals how harm embeds in the nervous system and what leaders must do to stop it.
Whether you’re an HR leader, executive, or culture reformer, The Physiology of Bullying gives you the science, strategy, and language to lead real change.
Ready to build a culture that prevents harm, not just reacts to it?
Buy your copy today and join the movement to end workplace harm at the root.
Need Support Right Now?
If you’ve experienced workplace bullying or stress-related trauma, healing starts with the right support. These trusted professionals offer different paths to recovery — choose the one that resonates with you.
Suzan Joy Wells
Somatic Trauma Therapist
Suzan offers a trauma-informed, body-based approach to help you restore nervous system safety, reconnect with your Self, and release the imprint of workplace harm. Her work integrates movement, breath, sound, and energy for deep, lasting healing.
Sessions available online worldwide
Helena Persion
Emotional Image Therapist
Helena supports recovery from workplace trauma using a structured, mind-based method that helps resolve deep emotional pain—without reliving the trauma. Her sessions can address burnout, anxiety, fear, shame and more by reprogramming the emotional response at its root.
Sessions available online worldwide
