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Rebecka HolmgrenPhD Student

About me

My research area is psychosocial stressors at work and my PhD-project aims to identify organizational risk factors and psychological health consequences of exposure to workplace bullying. It is part of a larger research programme, led by Linda Magnusson Hanson, focusing on risks and consequences of being exposed to negative social behaviours at work. In my research I primarily use longitudinal data from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). 

Prior to starting my PhD-studies in spring 2021 I have worked as a clinical psychologist, mainly within the field of occupational health. My doctoral position is a collaboration between the Public Health Department and the Stress Research Institute (at the department of Psychology), where I am seated. 

Education

Master of Science Programme in Psychology, Lund University 2016

Publications

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

  • Bidirectional associations between workplace bullying and sickness absence due to common mental disorders: a propensity-score matched cohort study

    2024. Rebecka Holmgren (et al.). BMC Public Health 24 (1)

    Article

    Background The link between workplace bullying and poor mental health is well-known. However, little is known about the prospective and potentially reciprocal association between workplace bullying and mental health-related sickness absence. This 2-year prospective study examined bidirectional associations between exposure to workplace bullying and sickness absence due to common mental disorders (SA-CMD) while controlling for confounding factors from both work and private life.

    Methods The study was based on propensity score-matched samples (N = 3216 and N = 552) from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health, using surveys from years 2012, 2014 and 2016. Self-reported exposure to workplace bullying was linked to registry-based information regarding medically certified SA-CMD (≥ 14 consecutive days). The associations were examined by means of Cox proportional hazards regression and via conditional logistic regression analysis. Hazard ratios and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated.

    Results Exposure to workplace bullying was associated with an increased risk of incident SA-CMD (HR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.0–1.8), after accounting for the influence of job demands, decision authority, previous SA-CMD, as well as other sociodemographic covariates. However, we found no statistically significant association between SA-CMD and subsequent workplace bullying (OR 1.2, 95% CI 0.7–1.9).

    Conclusions The results support an association between self-reported workplace bullying and SA-CMD, independent of other sociodemographic factors and workplace stressors. Preventing workplace bullying could alleviate a share of the individual and societal burden caused by SA globally.

    Read more about Bidirectional associations between workplace bullying and sickness absence due to common mental disorders

  • Workplace bullying, symptoms of anxiety and the interaction with leadership quality - a longitudinal study using dynamic panel models with fixed effects

    2023. Rebecka Holmgren (et al.). Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health 49 (1), 64-74

    Article

    Objectives: Workplace bullying has been suggested to increase symptoms of anxiety. A reverse relationship has also been proposed. However, so far only few earlier studies have investigated this topic and the reported associations might partly be explained by unmeasured individual characteristics. In this study, we aim to examine the temporality and directionality between workplace bullying and anxiety symptoms, taking time-invariant characteristics into account. Furthermore, we aim to examine whether leadership quality modifies these associations.

    Methods: We included 13 491 individuals from two nationwide cohort studies in Sweden and Denmark. Using cross-lagged structural equation models (SEM) and dynamic panel models with fixed effects, we examined contemporaneous and lagged associations between self-reported workplace bullying and anxiety. Cohort-specific results were estimated and combined using fixed-effect meta-analysis.

    Results: The cross-lagged SEM models supported contemporaneous and lagged relationships in both directions (from workplace bullying to symptoms of anxiety and vice versa). In contrast, only contemporaneous relationships remained statistically significant and of considerable magnitude in the dynamic panel models with fixed effects. Specifically, exposure to workplace bullying was related to a concurrent increase in anxiety symptoms (b=0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.32–0.90). No support of interaction with leadership quality was found.

    Conclusions: The results indicate that onset of workplace bullying is associated with an immediate or short-term increase in anxiety symptoms. This study provides novel insights regarding temporal aspects and causal inference of the bullying-anxiety relationship useful for managing psychological hazards and preventing mental illness at work.

    Read more about Workplace bullying, symptoms of anxiety and the interaction with leadership quality - a longitudinal study using dynamic panel models with fixed effects

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