Effects of adverse social behaviour at the workplace on subsequent mental distress: a 3-year prospective study of the ge
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Effects of adverse social behaviour at the workplace on subsequent mental distress: a 3‑year prospective study of the general working population in Norway Tom Sterud1 · Therese N. Hanvold1 Received: 21 November 2019 / Accepted: 5 September 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Objective We aimed to provide an integrated picture of the relationship between different facets of adverse social behaviour (ASB) at work and mental health problem. Methods Data were provided from a longitudinal nationwide study of the general population in Norway. Eligible respondents were in paid work during a reference week in 2013, or temporarily absent from such work, and was interviewed at 3-year follow-up (n = 3654, response at baseline/follow-up = 53.1%/71.8%). We investigated the prospective associations of selfreported exposure to ASBs, including threats/acts of violence, bullying, sexual harassment and workplace conflicts, with mental distress (the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist) at follow-up, by means of multiple logistic regression. Results In total, 6.6% (242 individuals) were classified with mental distress at follow-up. Work-related predictors were sexual harassment (OR = 1.64 07, 95% CI 1.03 − 2.61), bullying (OR = 2.07, 95% CI 1.19 − 3.60) and workplace conflicts (OR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.07 − 2.13). An elevated, but non-statistically significant association was observed for threats/acts of violence. No significant interactions were found between ASB and mental distress score at baseline. Overall there were few indications of substantial confounding related to age, sex, education level or occupation. After adjusting for these factors, the overall population attributable risk of mental distress attributable to any exposure to ASB was 11.3% (95%CI 0.6–22.3). Conclusions We observed robust associations between exposure to three out of four types of ASB and risk of mental distress. Taken together, the results underscore that adverse social behaviour at the workplace may have a substantial impact on the level of mental distress in the general working population. Keywords Psychosocial factors · Occupational exposure · Occupational stress · Workplace · Occupational health · Occupational groups
Background Mental disorders are among the leading causes of sickness absence and long-term work incapacity (Vigo et al. 2016). Over the past two decades, researchers have paid increasing attention to the relationship between different job characteristics and mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and other stress-related conditions (Harvey et al. 2017). Less attention has been devoted to the likely mental health consequences of adverse social behaviour (ASB) at * Tom Sterud [email protected] 1
National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI), PO Box 5330 Majorstuen, N‑0033 Oslo, Norway
the workplace. This is somewhat surprising as the labour market shift towards the service industry implies that the relative significance of social stressors will increase with a surge of social interactions with patients, c
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