Citation

Ortega A, Christensen KB, Hogh A, Rugulies R, Borg V. J. Nurs. Manag. 2011; 19(6): 752-759.

Affiliation

Visiting Assistant Professor, Universidad Tecnológica del Centro, Departamento de Ciencias Administrativas y Gerenciales. Guacara, Venezuela Associate Professor, Department of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Professor, National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences,Copenhagen Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Copenhagen Senior Researcher, Researcher National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1365-2834.2010.01179.x

PMID

21899628

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 12 months, 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.

Language: en