Workplace Bullying as a Predictor of Disability Retirement: A Prospective Registry Study of Norwegian Employees

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine 1) whether bullying is related to all-cause disability retirement, 2) whether bullying contributes to the variancein disability retirement above highjob demands andlack ofjob control, and 3)to establish gender differencesin the relationship.Methods: Survey data from 14,501 Norwegian employees on exposure factors linked to registry data on all-cause disability retirement. Results: Bullying significantly predicted risk of disability retirement (hazard ratio¼ 1.55; 95% confidence interval¼ 1.13 to 2.12). This relationship remained statistically significant after adjusting for job demands and lack of job control. Women had the highest risk of disability, but both bullied men and women had a higher risk of disability than nonbullied employees of the same gender. Conclusion: Bullying is a risk factor for disability retirement. Measures taken to prevent bullying may be beneficial for reducing both health problems and disability retirement.