ArticleInternational archives of occupational and environmental health2020
Workplace bullying and depressive symptoms among employees in Germany: prospective associations regarding severity and the role of the perpetrator.
Article in International archives of occupational and environmental health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Psychosocial Occupational Exposures and Mental Illness.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2022Pooled it
- Workplace Bullying and Depression Among the Saudi Working Population: A Cross-Sectional Study.The Psychiatric quarterly · 2026Article
- Effects of Inappropriate Nurturing Experiences, Depressive Rumination, and Trait Anxiety on Depressive Symptoms.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2024Article
- Effects of Peer Victimization in Childhood and Trait Anxiety on Job Stress in Adulthood.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2024Article
- Gender Differences in the Association between Workplace Bullying and Depression among Korean Employees.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Exposure to Bullying or Hazing During Deployment and Mental Health Outcomes Among US Army Soldiers.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Workplace Bullying and Long-Term Sickness Absence-A Five-Year Follow-Up Study of 2476 Employees Aged 31 to 60 Years in Germany.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Appreciation and job control predict depressive symptoms: results from the Study on Mental Health at Work.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2022Article
- Antecedents of Workplace Bullying among Employees in Germany: Five-Year Lagged Effects of Job Demands and Job Resources.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Effects of adverse social behaviour at the workplace on subsequent mental distress: a 3-year prospective study of the general working population in Norway.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2021Article
- Victimization in Childhood Mediates the Association Between Parenting Quality, Stressful Life Events, and Depression in Adulthood.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the effect of self-reported workplace bullying on depressive symptoms in a prospective study among a representative sample of employees from Germany. We focused specifically on the role of the perpetrator (co-workers and superiors), which was never done before in a longitudinal design.
methodsWe used data from a nation-wide representative panel study with a 5-year follow-up (N = 2172). Data on bullying exposure were obtained separately for different perpetrators (co-workers and superiors) and degree of severity (severe bullying, i.e., at least weekly). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). We used logistic regression analyses to examine the effect of workplace bullying at baseline on depressive symptoms at follow-up.
resultsAfter adjusting for baseline depressive symptoms, severe bullying by co-workers significantly increased the 5-year risk of depressive symptoms (OR = 2.50). Severe bullying by superiors had a nonsignificant effect.
conclusionsWorkplace bullying is a risk factor for depressive symptoms among employees in Germany. The type of perpetrator seems to be an important factor to consider, as indicated by the elevated risk of depressive symptoms when bullying is perpetrated by co-workers.
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