He is a professor emeritus of Sociology at the University of Waterloo, where he was the chair of the department from 1975 to 1978.
He is the author or editor of several books about workplace bullying in academia.
[4] Westhues initially published research about the relationship between church and state.
[3] Westhues authored and edited several books about workplace bullying in academia.
His research found that vulnerability was increased by personal differences such as being a foreigner or of a different sex; by working in a post-modern field such as music or literature; financial pressure; or having an aggressive superior.