Abstract
Aims To examine the effect of workplace bullying on long-term sickness absence using a prospective design. Background Although bullying has been identified as a serious problem in the health care sector, little attention has been given to the possible effect of workplace bullying on long-term sickness absence and its implications. Methods The sample consisted of 9949 employees (78.1% response rate) working in the elderly-care sector in 36 Danish municipalities. Long-term sickness absence was measured by linking a survey on work and health to the national register on social transfer payments. Results Among the 1171 employees that were bullied at work in the past 12months, 1.8% were frequently bullied and 7.3% were occasionally bullied. The risk of long-term sickness absence was higher for those frequently bullied even after adjusting for psychosocial work characteristics [rate ratio (RR)=1.92, confidence interval (CI): 1.29-2.84; P<0.05]. Conclusion This is the first prospective study that explored the effect of both frequent and occasional bullying on long-term sickness absence among health care employees. The effect of frequent bullying on long-term sickness absence was independent of the psychosocial work characteristics. Implications for Nursing Management Workplace bullying might impact negatively the quality of care and patients safety.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Nursing Management |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Pages (from-to) | 752-759 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISSN | 0966-0429 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2011 |