Workplace Bullying and Suicidal Ideation: Findings from an Australian Longitudinal Cohort Study of Mid-Aged Workers

Liana S. Leach, Lay San Too, Philip J. Batterham, Kim M. Kiely, Helen Christensen and Peter Butterworth
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Liana S. Leach: National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, The Australia National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Lay San Too: Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
Philip J. Batterham: Centre for Mental Health Research, Research School of Population Health, The Australia National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
Kim M. Kiely: School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Helen Christensen: Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Peter Butterworth: Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Workplace bullying adversely affects mental health, yet little is known about the outcomes for suicidal ideation. The current study used Australian population-based data to investigate the association between workplace bullying and suicidal ideation. The sample included 1488 employed participants aged 52–58 from wave 4 of the Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Study. Workplace bullying was measured in two ways: (a) a single item asked about experiences of bullying ‘currently’, ‘previously in the current workplace’ and ‘in a past workplace’, and (b) 15 items asked about bullying behaviours experienced in the past 6 months. Suicidal ideation was measured using items from the Psychiatric Symptom Frequency Scale (PSF) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Psychosocial job quality, both current and prior, was adjusted for. Current and past experiences of workplace bullying were associated with increased risk of suicidal ideation. Current experiences were no longer associated after adjusting for concurrent indicators of psychosocial job stress, although a tendency for increased ideation remained. Reported prior experience of workplace bullying in a past workplace remained associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation after adjusting for prior psychosocial job stressors and excluding individuals with prior suicidal ideation. Being bullied at work is associated with increased risk of suicidal thoughts, although this occurs within the broader influence of other psychologically stressful employment conditions.

Keywords: workplace bullying; mobbing; suicide; suicidal ideation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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