Workplace bullying in a German representative sample of employees: a cross-sectional analysis.
4 affiliations
- 1Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. [email protected].
- 2Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, Philipp-Rosenthal-Straße 55, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- 3Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA), Berlin, Germany.
- 4Institute and Policlinic of Occupational and Social Medicine (IPAS), Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Abstract
Background
Workplace bullying (WB) is linked to a variety of detrimental health outcomes among affected individuals, while also imposing negative organizational consequences on the businesses involved. The objective of the present study was to update prevalences of WB and to investigate associations with WB distinguished by the source of bullying (from co-workers, supervisors, or both) in a representative sample of employees in Germany.Methods
The study is based on a representative cross-sectional telephone survey comprising a sample of N = 5,015 employed adults. WB was defined as cases in which respondents indicated that they had experienced unfair criticism, harassment, or public humiliation by co-workers and/or supervisors on a weekly basis over the previous six months. To identify associations of WB, multivariable logistic regression analyses were run, distinguished by the source of bullying.Results
The prevalence of WB was 6.5% overall, with 4.4% reporting WB by co-workers and 3.5% reporting WB by supervisors. WB decreased with age, with the highest prevalence among young adults aged 18 to 29 years (11.5%). Individuals in an apprentice status (12.3%), or those working in blue-collar jobs (10.2%) showed the highest prevalence for WB. In multivariable analyses, only age was significantly associated with WB across all sources of WB showing a higher vulnerability for younger employees. WB by co-workers and WB by supervisors were strongly linked.Conclusions
One in fifteen employed individuals experiences WB in Germany. Young age was the most consistent factor associated with WB. Partial associations of some variables (gender, region, professional status) highlight the context-dependent nature of WB. Furthermore, the strong link between WB by co-workers and WB by supervisors underscores the systemic nature of this work phenomenon. Implementing preventive strategies that specifically address WB is needed to sustain employee health.
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BibTeX
@article{welzel2026workplace,
title = {{Workplace bullying in a German representative sample of employees: a cross-sectional analysis.}},
author = {Franziska D Welzel and Franziska Ulrike Jung and Alexander Pabst and Antonia M Buß and Hermann Burr and Uwe Rose and Andreas Seidler and Steffi G Riedel-Heller and Margrit Löbner},
journal = {Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1186/s12995-026-00535-3},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42919399},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Workplace bullying in a German representative sample of employees: a cross-sectional analysis.
AU - Franziska D Welzel
AU - Franziska Ulrike Jung
AU - Alexander Pabst
AU - Antonia M Buß
AU - Hermann Burr
AU - Uwe Rose
AU - Andreas Seidler
AU - Steffi G Riedel-Heller
AU - Margrit Löbner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England)
DO - 10.1186/s12995-026-00535-3
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42919399
AB - Background Workplace bullying (WB) is linked to a variety of detrimental health outcomes among affected individuals, while also imposing negative organizational consequences on the businesses involved. The objective of the present study was to update prevalences of WB and to investigate associations with WB distinguished by the source of bullying (from co-workers, supervisors, or both) in a representative sample of employees in Germany.Methods The study is based on a representative cross-sectional telephone survey comprising a sample of N = 5,015 employed adults. WB was defined as cases in which respondents indicated that they had experienced unfair criticism, harassment, or public humiliation by co-workers and/or supervisors on a weekly basis over the previous six months. To identify associations of WB, multivariable logistic regression analyses were run, distinguished by the source of bullying.Results The prevalence of WB was 6.5% overall, with 4.4% reporting WB by co-workers and 3.5% reporting WB by supervisors. WB decreased with age, with the highest prevalence among young adults aged 18 to 29 years (11.5%). Individuals in an apprentice status (12.3%), or those working in blue-collar jobs (10.2%) showed the highest prevalence for WB. In multivariable analyses, only age was significantly associated with WB across all sources of WB showing a higher vulnerability for younger employees. WB by co-workers and WB by supervisors were strongly linked.Conclusions One in fifteen employed individuals experiences WB in Germany. Young age was the most consistent factor associated with WB. Partial associations of some variables (gender, region, professional status) highlight the context-dependent nature of WB. Furthermore, the strong link between WB by co-workers and WB by supervisors underscores the systemic nature of this work phenomenon. Implementing preventive strategies that specifically address WB is needed to sustain employee health.
SN - 1745-6673
ER -