Long-term consequences of workplace bullying on sickness absence

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. Terms of use: Documents in D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E SIZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. Bullying in workplaces is a problem thought to harm individual productivity. This paper investigates whether being exposed to bullying in the workplace increases long-term sickness absence. We analyze employees from a selection of workplaces from The Bullying Cohort Study conducted in Denmark in 2006. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised was used to avoid bias related to self-labeling as being bullied. We account for important confounders, such as historical information on sickness absence and mental health, obtained through rich registry data. Our results show that gender does not significantly explain exposure to bullying and that exposure to bullying is associated with negative immediate selfreported health for both genders. We also find, however, that only bullied females have higher, persistent increases in long-term sickness absence and adverse long-term health. This suggests that men and women have different coping strategies. We investigate plausible explanations for this and find that the differences cannot be explained by, for example, turnover or lack of employment. Although insignificant, our results nonetheless indicate that men are twice as likely to leave the labor force immediately after exposure to bullying.JEL Classification: J15, J24, J81

Do gender and psychosocial job stressors modify the relationship between disability and sickness absence: An investigation using 12 waves of a longitudinal cohort

“…In particular, discrimination, stigma and bullying have been reported to be elevated among employed people with disabilities compared to those without disabilities (31). Previous research has shown a link between the experience of these types of adverse workplace experiences and greater likelihood of sickness absence (32,33,34). Hence, people with disabilities may be more exposed to stressors such as discrimination and bullying in workplace settings, and these may contribute to greater likelihood of taking sickness absence.…”

Employment predictors of exit from work among workers with disabilities: A survival analysis from the household income labour dynamics in Australia survey

“…6 months) by peers or superiors, against which defence or retaliation is hindered by the recognition of a formal or informal power imbalance [43]). Research also suggests that greater exposure to workplace bullying is associated with higher sickness absence [44] and levels of job insecurity and intention to leave a job [45]. Hence, exposure to these negative experiences while in the workplace may contribute to exit from the labour market among workers with disability.…”

The (Un)Questionable Challenges of Sample Access, Recruitment and Retention in Contemporary Workplace Bullying Research

“…Indeed, the temporal and spatial analysis of workplace bullying has been facilitated through the collection of longitudinal data and the secondary analysis of large scale studies (Ariza-Montes, Muniz R, Leal-Rodríguez, & Leal-Millán, 2016;Askew et al, 2012;Attell, Kummerow Brown, & Treiber, 2016;Eriksen, Hogh, & Hansen, 2016;Finne, Knardahl, & Lau, 2011;Lallukka, Rahkonen, & Lahelma, 2011). Adopting a multi-method approach broadens the researcher's opportunities to engage with individuals who may be experiencing workplace bullying.…”