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. 2023 Jan 11;23(1):78.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14920-0.

The prevalence and mental health correlates of exposure to offensive behaviours at work in Hungary: results of a national representative survey

Tyler Szusecki  1 , Barna Konkolÿ Thege  1   2 , Adrienne Stauder  3
Affiliations

The prevalence and mental health correlates of exposure to offensive behaviours at work in Hungary: results of a national representative survey

Tyler Szusecki et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Within the last decades, a substantial number of reports have established bullying behaviours as a severe risk to the health and safety of workers. However, in Hungary, the severity of this issue remains largely unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to 1) determine the prevalence of offensive workplace behaviours in the Hungarian working population and 2) examine the relationship between exposure to these offensive behaviours and certain mental health indicators.

Methods: The cross-sectional analyses of the present study are based on a sample of 13,104 active workers being representative of the Hungarian working population according to gender, age, educational level, and 18 occupational sectors. The mid-length version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (COPSOQ II) was used to measure workplace offensive behaviours (bullying, sexual harassment, threats of violence, and physical violence) in the 12 months preceding the survey. Examined mental health correlates included depressive symptomatology (Beck Depression Inventory), functional somatic symptoms (PHQ-15), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), and general well-being (WHO Well-being Index).

Results: Almost half (48.7%) of the sample reported exposure to some form of offensive behaviour; 37.6% of participants reported occasional-, while 11.1% reported weekly or daily exposure. More women than men were exposed to offensive workplace behaviours, and those targeted the most were individuals aged 18-29 and in companies employing 20-49 employees. Top managers reported the lowest amount of bullying, while unskilled labourers reported the most frequent exposure. A moderately strong relationship was discovered between exposure to workplace offensive behaviours and all indicators of mental health.

Conclusion: Workplace bullying was revealed to be a significant public health concern according to this large, representative data set from Hungary. Strategies to reduce the occurrence and impact of these behaviours on employee health should be a priority for occupational health and safety interventions.

Keywords: Hungary; Mental health; Offensive behaviours; Prevalence; Representative sampling; Workplace bullying.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Gender differences in the 12-month prevalence (%) of exposure to workplace offensive behaviours
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Age differences in the 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours in men. b Age differences in the 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours in women
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a Relationship between educational attainment and 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours in men. b Relationship between educational attainment and 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours in women
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
a Relationship between job position and 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours in men. b Relationship between job position and 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours in women
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Relationship between industry sector and 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours. ADMIN: Administrative and support service; AGRIC: Agriculture; forest; game and fisheries management; CATERING: Accommodation and food service; COMMERCE: Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles; real estate; CONSTRUCT: Construction; DEFENCE: Defence (jurisdiction; military; fire service); EDUC: Education; ENERGY: Energy; mining; water and waste management; ENTERTAIN: Arts; entertainment; sport and recreation; FINANCE: Financial and insurance activities; HEAL-SOC: Human health; social work activities; IT-COM: IT and communication; MANUFACT: Manufacturing; POST-TRP: Passenger transport; postal services; PUBLIC: Public administration; social security; SCIENCE: Professional, scientific and technical activities; SERVICE: Other services (politics; NGOs, repair; beauty; undertaking etc.); STORE-TRP: Transportation and storage
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Relationship between company size and 12-month prevalence (%) of occasional or frequent exposure to offensive behaviours
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Industry-specific prevalence rates (%) of workplace offensive behaviours in Australia [21] versus Hungary (based on the results of the present study)
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References

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