Risk Factors for Workplace Bullying: A Systematic Review

Fernando R. Feijó, Débora D. Gräf, Neil Pearce and Anaclaudia G. Fassa
Additional contact information
Fernando R. Feijó: Postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology, Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, 96030-000, Brazil
Débora D. Gräf: Postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology, Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, 96030-000, Brazil
Neil Pearce: Department of Medical Statistics, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
Anaclaudia G. Fassa: Postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology, Department of Social Medicine, Federal University of Pelotas, 96030-000, Brazil

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-25

Abstract: Objective : The goal of this study was to systematically review risk factors for workplace bullying. Methods : The search was carried out in two databases. Studies with estimates of risk factors for workplace bullying were included in the review. We assessed the quality of the selected studies using an adapted version of the Downs and Black checklist. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analyses of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines were used for reporting papers. Results : Fifty-one papers were included, and 70.6% were from European countries. Women were reported to be at higher risk of being bullied in most studies (odds ratio (OR) from 1.17 to 2.77). Authoritarian and laissez-faire leadership styles were positively associated with bullying. Several psychosocial factors, such as stress (OR from 1.37 to 4.96), and occupational risks related to work organization, such as flexible work methods, role conflict, role ambiguity, monotonous or rotating tasks, high demands, pressure of work, and unclarity of duties were strongly associated with bullying. Discussion : The findings highlight the central role of organizational factors in bullying. Policies to prevent bullying must address the culture of organizations, facing the challenge of developing a new management and leadership framework.

Keywords: workplace bullying; occupational health; epidemiology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/11/1945/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/11/1945/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:11:p:1945-:d:236271

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().