Prevalence and incidence of workplace bullying among Spanish employees working with people with intellectual disability

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough workplace bullying is a severe psychosocial risk with a high prevalence, there is a lack of studies addressing its incidence, particularly among staff working with people with intellectual disability. ObjectivesWe examined the prevalence and incidence of workplace bullying in a sample of Spanish employees working with people with intellectual disability. The socio-demographic characteristics of victims and non-victims of workplace bullying were also analyzed. MethodsMulticenter study with two phases (T1 and T2) carried out in Valencia (Spain). The sample consisted of 696 employees from 66 centers in T1. One year later (T2), 422 employees from 61 centers agreed to participate in the study again. Workplace bullying was assessed by means of the instrument “Mobbing-UNIPSICO”. ResultsThe prevalence of workplace bullying was 18.9% and 20.4% in T1 and T2, respectively. Of the 335 employees who were not victims of workplace bullying at T1 who were followed up at T2, 36 reported that they suffered workplace bullying a year later, that is, the accumulated incidence was 11%. In contrast, 81 workers who had been victims of workplace bullying at T1 and who were followed up at T2, 32 reported that they did not suffered from workplace bullying a year later. The victims had more stable contracts and more seniority in the organization/job than the non-victims in T1, but this result was not replicated in T2. ConclusionsWorkplace bullying is a phenomenon with substantial prevalence, but also with considerable incidence (11%) among staff working with people with an intellectual disability.