IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i20p4039-d278914.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Association of Workplace Bullying and Workplace Vulnerability in the Psychological Distress of Chilean Workers

Author

Listed:
  • Elisa Ansoleaga

    (Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago 7630103, Chile)

  • Magdalena Ahumada

    (Institute of Public Health of Chile, Santiago 7780050, Chile)

  • Andrés González-Santa Cruz

    (Faculty of Social Sciences and History, Diego Portales University, Santiago 8370127, Chile)

Abstract

Workplace bullying has been identified as a global problem because of its growing magnitude and the harmful effects in victims and organizations. Workplace vulnerability is a component of job precarious1ness that reflects insecurity, fear, and labor uncertainty. This paper aims to analyze the associations between the exposure to workplace vulnerability and psychological distress, and to explore the associations between exposure to workplace bullying and psychological distress, by sex. A cross-sectional and probabilistic survey was applied to a randomly-selected valid sample of 1995 salaried workers in three main metropolitan areas of Chile. Chi-square test and logistic regression models controlling for confounders were tested. Female workers were more exposed to workplace vulnerability and presented a higher prevalence of psychological distress. Among women who were vulnerable, one of three reported psychological distress (30.8%), which is higher than men (16.5%). Workers exposed to workplace vulnerability had a greater chance of workplace bullying, workers who perceived high workplace vulnerability had a greater chance of psychological distress, and workers exposed to workplace violence had a greater likelihood of psychological distress in comparison to those who were not exposed. Increasing employment security can reduce the perception of job vulnerability and help prevent the existence of workplace bullying. Additionally, occupational health protection policies should prevent, protect from, and intervene in workplace bullying as a precursor to mental health problems in Chile.

Suggested Citation

  • Elisa Ansoleaga & Magdalena Ahumada & Andrés González-Santa Cruz, 2019. "Association of Workplace Bullying and Workplace Vulnerability in the Psychological Distress of Chilean Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:4039-:d:278914
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/20/4039/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/20/4039/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Allison Milner & Anna J. Scovelle & Tania L. King & Claudia H. Marck & Ashley McAllister & Anne M. Kavanagh & Marissa Shields & Eszter Török & Adrienne O’Neil, 2019. "Gendered Working Environments as a Determinant of Mental Health Inequalities: A Protocol for a Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-8, April.
    2. Dianne Gardner & Michael O’Driscoll & Helena D. Cooper-Thomas & Maree Roche & Tim Bentley & Bevan Catley & Stephen T. T. Teo & Linda Trenberth, 2016. "Predictors of Workplace Bullying and Cyber-Bullying in New Zealand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, April.
    3. J. Antonio Ariza-Montes & Noel M. Muniz R. & Antonio L. Leal-Rodríguez & Antonio G. Leal-Millán, 2014. "Workplace Bullying among Managers: A Multifactorial Perspective and Understanding," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-26, March.
    4. Vincent J. Roscigno & Randy Hodson & Steven H. Lopez, 2009. "Workplace incivilities: the role of interest conflicts, social closure and organizational chaos," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 23(4), pages 747-773, December.
    5. repec:ilo:ilowps:384511 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Yuhyung Shin & Won-Moo Hur, 2019. "When Do Service Employees Suffer More from Job Insecurity? The Moderating Role of Coworker and Customer Incivility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-17, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Manuel Pabón-Carrasco & Lucia Ramirez-Baena & Nerea Jiménez-Picón & José Antonio Ponce Blandón & José Manuel Martínez-Montilla & Raúl Martos-García, 2019. "Influence of Personality Traits and Its Interaction with the Phenomenon of Bullying: Multi-Centre Descriptive Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-14, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Amna Anjum & Xu Ming & Ahmed Faisal Siddiqi & Samma Faiz Rasool, 2018. "An Empirical Study Analyzing Job Productivity in Toxic Workplace Environments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, May.
    2. Elizabeth Quinlan & Susan Robertson & Ann-Marie Urban & Isobel M Findlay & Beth Bilson, 2020. "Ameliorating Workplace Harassment among Direct Caregivers in Canada’s Healthcare System: A Theatre-Based Intervention," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 34(4), pages 626-643, August.
    3. Catalina Sau Man Ng & Victor C. W. Chan, 2021. "Prevalence of Workplace Bullying and Risk Groups in Chinese Employees in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-11, January.
    4. Clive Boddy, 2014. "Corporate Psychopaths, Conflict, Employee Affective Well-Being and Counterproductive Work Behaviour," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(1), pages 107-121, April.
    5. Ilaria Buonomo & Caterina Fiorilli & Luciano Romano & Paula Benevene, 2020. "The Roles of Work-Life Conflict and Gender in the Relationship between Workplace Bullying and Personal Burnout. A Study on Italian School Principals," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-17, November.
    6. Cheryl Akinyi Margaret Genga & Sunday Samson Babalola, 2024. "Unveiling the Shadow of Workplace Cyberbullying in the Digital Age: A Call for Research in Africa," Businesses, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Felipe Muñoz Medina & Sergio López Bohle & Lixin Jiang & Maria José Chambel & Sebastian M Ugarte, 2023. "Qualitative job insecurity and voice behavior: Evaluation of the mediating effect of affective organizational commitment," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(4), pages 986-1006, November.
    8. Fernando R. Feijó & Débora D. Gräf & Neil Pearce & Anaclaudia G. Fassa, 2019. "Risk Factors for Workplace Bullying: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-25, May.
    9. Maissa N. Alrawashdeh & Rula Odeh Alsawalqa & Ann Alnajdawi & Rami Aljboor & Fawzi AlTwahya & Abdullah Mahmod Ibrahim, 2024. "Workplace cyberbullying and social capital among Jordanian university academic staff: a cross-sectional study," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    10. Fabian O Ugwu & Ike E Onyishi & Lawrence E Ugwu & Jens Mazei & Joy Ugwu & Josephine M Uwouku & Kwasedoo M Ngbea, 2023. "Supervisor and customer incivility as moderators of the relationship between job insecurity and work engagement: Evidence from a new context," Economic and Industrial Democracy, Department of Economic History, Uppsala University, Sweden, vol. 44(2), pages 504-525, May.
    11. Yiqiong Li & Michelle R. Tuckey & Annabelle M. Neall & Alice Rose & Lauren Wilson, 2023. "Changing the Underlying Conditions Relevant to Workplace Bullying through Organisational Redesign," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-27, February.
    12. Ibrahim A. Elshaer & Alaa M. S. Azazz, 2021. "Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Unethical Behavior in the Name of the Company: The Role of Job Insecurity, Job Embeddedness, and Turnover Intention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15, December.
    13. Yuhyung Shin & Won-Moo Hur & Seongho Kang, 2021. "Mistreatment from Multiple Sources: Interaction Effects of Abusive Supervision, Coworker Incivility, and Customer Incivility on Work Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-16, May.
    14. Omar A. Alismaiel, 2023. "Digital Media Used in Education: The Influence on Cyberbullying Behaviors among Youth Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    15. Ibrahim A. Elshaer & Marwa Ghanem & Alaa M. S. Azazz, 2022. "An Unethical Organizational Behavior for the Sake of the Family: Perceived Risk of Job Insecurity, Family Motivation and Financial Pressures," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Živilė Stankevičiūtė & Eglė Staniškienė & Joana Ramanauskaitė, 2021. "The Impact of Job Insecurity on Organisational Citizenship Behaviour and Task Performance: Evidence from Robotised Furniture Sector Companies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-17, January.
    17. Devi Akella, 2016. "Workplace Bullying," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(1), pages 21582440166, February.
    18. Jan Philipp Czakert & Rita Berger, 2022. "The Indirect Role of Passive-Avoidant and Transformational Leadership through Job and Team Level Stressors on Workplace Cyberbullying," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-19, November.
    19. Carl Rhodes & Geraint Harvey, 2012. "Agonism and the Possibilities of Ethics for HRM," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 49-59, November.
    20. Boateng, Godfred O. & Adams, Tracey L., 2016. "“Drop dead … I need your job”: An exploratory study of intra-professional conflict amongst nurses in two Ontario cities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 35-42.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:4039-:d:278914. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.