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Workplace bullying and sickness presenteeism: cross-sectional and prospective associations in a 2-year follow-up study

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Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate exposure to workplace bullying as a potential risk factor for sickness presenteeism (SP), i.e. working while ill.

Methods

This study is based on data collected through self-reported questionnaires in a 2-year prospective study on employees in Denmark. At baseline, 3363 employees (45.7 % response rate) answered to a questionnaire on their psychosocial work environment and health status. After 2 years, 1664 of the respondents also completed a follow-up questionnaire (49.5 % of the total baseline respondents). After excluding participants with missing values, the final samples were composed of 2865 and 1331 participants in the cross-sectional and prospective analyses, respectively.

Results

Modified poisson regression analyses showed that frequent (i.e. daily or weekly) exposure to workplace bullying was associated with reporting 8 or more days of SP in the preceding year in both the cross-sectional and the prospective analysis, also when controlling for several confounders including health-related variables. However, the prospective relationship became non-significant after adjustment for baseline SP.

Conclusion

This study provides indications of a significant relationship between exposure to frequent workplace bullying and SP, although causal connections could not be established. Methodological and theoretical considerations about study findings are provided, which could be of benefit to future studies examining the impact of being a target of workplace bullying on SP.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Danish Council of Independent Research (Project no. DFF - 1319-00092) and the Danish Work Environment Research Funds (Project No. 20130023294/3). We are grateful to Kirsten Nabe-Nielsen (Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen) and Laura Francioli (Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen) for their support on a revised version of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2A, 1353, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Paul Maurice Conway & Annie Hogh

  2. National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkalle 105, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Thomas Clausen & Åse Marie Hansen

  3. Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, 1014, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Åse Marie Hansen

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  1. Paul Maurice Conway
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  2. Thomas Clausen
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Correspondence to Paul Maurice Conway.

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Conway, P.M., Clausen, T., Hansen, Å.M. et al. Workplace bullying and sickness presenteeism: cross-sectional and prospective associations in a 2-year follow-up study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 89, 103–114 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-015-1055-9

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