Association between workplace harassment and occupational injury among adult workers in the United States

Objective: Occupational injuries can be severe, with substantial consequences for involved adult workers, their families, employers, and society. Although the association between workplace harassment and occupational injury is widely recognized, nonsexual workplace harassment has not been independently investigated relative to occupational injury. Methods: A total of 4629 adult workers who completed the 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014 U.S. General Social Survey were included in the study to examine the association between workplace harassment (sexual and nonsexual) and occupational injury. The Holistic Model of Stress guided variable selection. A zero-inflated negative binomial regression was conducted to examine hypothesized associations between workplace harassment and occupational injury, controlling for work stressors and individual demographic factors. Results: Nonsexual workplace harassment was associated with absence of occupational injury (OR = 0.36, p < 0.05) and number of occupational injuries during a 12-month recall period (IRR = 1.58,p < 0.05). Sexual harassment was not significantly associated with occupational injuries. Repeated physical work (p < 0.01) and forceful/awkward movement (p < 0.05) were negatively correlated with absence of occupational injury. Conclusions: Nonsexual workplace harassment, but not sexual workplace harassment, is associated with increased likelihood of occupational injury. Types of workplace harassment should be differentiated when studying the cause of occupational injury. Findings from this study provide new evidence to help policy makers and employers recognize and address nonsexual workplace harassment as a primary contributor to occupational injury among U.S. adult workers.