What are the odds of experiencing workplace mobbing or bullying?
Evidence quality 4.38/5
Eight-dimension review score against the quality rubric . Each dimension scored 1–5.
- D1 Source grounding
- 4/5
- D2 Source authority
- 5/5
- D3 Arithmetic
- 3/5
- D4 Uncertainty
- 4/5
- D5 Scope
- 5/5
- D6 Prose
- 5/5
- D7 Perception honesty
- 4/5
- D8 Caveat completeness
- 5/5
Lifetime probability · lifetime, activity-specific
1 in 2.1
48% lifetime chance
Most people underestimate this.
range 1 in 4.0 to 1 in 1.4
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≈ As likely as
Perceived
Most people think of workplace bullying as uncommon or confined to particularly dysfunctional organizations. It lacks the cultural salience of school bullying and is rarely discussed in mainstream media outside of extreme cases. The absence of federal anti-bullying legislation in the US reinforces the perception that it is a minor interpersonal nuisance rather than a systemic occupational hazard. When asked, most workers guess the prevalence is in the single digits — far below the actual rate.
Rough estimate: ~1 in 10 to 1 in 20 workers, intuitively
Source: editorial intuition, not polled
Actual
~30% of US workers report being bullied at work (WBI 2024)
US adult workforce (~165 million employed)
Show derivation
The 2024 Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) survey found that 32% of adult Americans report being directly bullied at work, with an additional 14% witnessing it. The 2017 WBI survey found 19% directly bullied and 19% witnessing. Nielsen & Einarsen's meta-analysis (2010) estimated a global prevalence of ~15% using behavioral measures and ~11% using self-labeling. Using a central point-in-time prevalence of ~30% (the 2024 WBI figure, which asks about lifetime experience in any job) as the headline, and adjusting for career duration: if the annual incidence rate is roughly 8-10% (proportion of workers experiencing new bullying in any given year), then over a 40-year career the probability of experiencing at least one episode is: 1 - (1 - 0.08)^40 ≈ 0.96 using the high end, or 1 - (1 - 0.016)^40 ≈ 0.48 using a more conservative annual incidence of ~1.6% (derived from cross-sectional prevalence of ~15% divided by average episode duration of ~9 years). The 9-year average is derived from dividing the ~32% point prevalence (WBI) by an estimated ~3.5% annual incidence onset rate, yielding an implied average duration of ~9 years. This is a modeling estimate, not a directly measured figure. The 40-year career horizon is used instead of the site's standard 59-year adult lifetime because workplace exposure ends at retirement; compounding beyond the working years would overstate the risk. The central estimate of 48% is conservative, reflecting the meta-analytic rather than the WBI figure.
Caveats: Prevalence estimates for workplace bullying vary by a factor of three depending …
Prevalence estimates for workplace bullying vary by a factor of three depending on the measurement instrument, the definition threshold, and whether the question asks about current experience or career history. The WBI's 32% figure is at the high end of the range and uses a broad self-report methodology with a small sample (N=1,024). The meta-analytic figure of ~15% is more conservative but pools studies from many countries with different labor-law environments. The "lifetime" estimate of ~48% depends on a modeled annual incidence rate that is itself uncertain. Unlike most entries on this site, this is a prevalence entry — it asks about the probability of experiencing something unpleasant, not dying from it. The severity spectrum is wide: it ranges from chronic social exclusion to sustained psychological abuse with lasting health consequences. The 87% of Americans who support anti-bullying workplace legislation (WBI 2024) suggests broad awareness that the problem is real, even if most people underestimate how common it is.
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The 2024 Workplace Bullying Institute survey found that 32% of US workers report being directly bullied at work, with another 14% witnessing it — 46% affected in total. Meta-analytic estimates using behavioral measures converge on a cross-sectional prevalence of about 15% at any given time (Nielsen & Einarsen, 2010; N=130,973). Compounding a conservative annual incidence rate over a 40-year career gives a lifetime probability of roughly 48%, or about 1 in 2. That puts workplace bullying in the same probability neighborhood as developing a diagnosable mental health disorder over a lifetime.
The gap between perception and reality runs in the opposite direction from most entries on this site: people underestimate this risk, not overestimate it. There is no federal anti-bullying statute in the US (only 4 states have introduced “Healthy Workplace” bills that passed), no ICD code for workplace bullying, and no mandatory employer reporting. The result is a hazard that is simultaneously widespread and statistically invisible. The health consequences, however, are well-documented: meta-analyses link sustained bullying to PTSD symptoms, clinical depression, sleep disorders, and suicidal ideation — outcomes typically associated with much more dramatic events.
Where these numbers need qualification: the WBI survey uses self-report with a broad definition and a modest sample size. The meta-analytic figure is more conservative but pools data from countries with very different workplace norms. The lifetime estimate depends on a modeled incidence rate. And severity varies enormously — the 32% who report “being bullied” includes everything from chronic social exclusion to sustained psychological abuse, and the health consequences track severity. The number is real, but the experience it describes is not uniform.
Related tidbits
65% of students experience bullying in grades 6-12. 48% of adults experience workplace bullying over a career. Graduation changes the setting, not the probability.
Claim ledger
Every number below is what each source reported, with the verbatim quote we relied on and how we arrived at our figure. Click any link to verify directly.
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[1] Workplace Bullying Institute / Zogby Analytics — 2024 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey
2024 WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey- Statistic
32% of US adult workers report being directly bullied at work; 46% are affected (bullied + witnessed); estimated 52.2 million Americans bullied- Excerpt
“"32% of adult Americans report being directly bullied at work; an additional 14% witness it. This means 46% are 'Affected.' 26% had no direct or indirect experience with bullying, but were 'believers,' and 72% of Americans are 'aware' of workplace bullying." ”
- Source data from
- 2024-10-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-18 · archived copy
- Calculation
- The 2024 WBI survey was conducted by Zogby Analytics (September 23-25, 2024) with a nationally representative sample of 1,024 US adults over age 18. The 32% figure represents self-reported direct bullying experience across the respondent's career (not limited to current job). This is the highest prevalence figure among the major surveys and forms the upper bound for the native estimate. The 30% native display figure rounds down slightly. For lifetime normalization, I use the more conservative meta-analytic cross-sectional prevalence of ~15% with an assumed average episode duration to derive an annual incidence rate, then compound over a 40-year career.
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[2] Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology (British Psychological Society) — The impact of methodological moderators on prevalence rates of workplace bullying: A meta-analysis
The impact of methodological moderators on prevalence rates of workplace bullying: A meta-analysis- Statistic
Global cross-sectional prevalence of ~15% using behavioral experience methods, ~11% using self-labeling methods; based on 102 estimates from 86 samples (N=130,973)- Excerpt
“"The meta-analysis accumulated 102 prevalence estimates from 86 independent samples. The overall weighted mean prevalence rate was 14.6% using behavioral experience methods." ”
- Source data from
- 2010-03-01
- Accessed
- 2026-04-18 · archived copy
- Calculation
- Nielsen & Einarsen (2010) is the most rigorous prevalence meta-analysis in the field, covering 130,973 respondents across 86 samples. The 15% behavioral-experience figure captures respondents who report specific bullying behaviors (e.g., being excluded, ridiculed, given impossible deadlines) without requiring them to self-label as "bullied." This is generally considered more methodologically sound than self-labeling. For the lifetime calculation: if ~15% of workers are experiencing bullying at any given time and the average duration of a bullying episode is ~2-3 years, the annual "new episode" incidence is roughly 15% / 9 ≈ 1.6% (using ~9 years as the average tenure in a given bullying situation, which accounts for prolonged exposure). Over 40 years: 1 - (1 - 0.016)^40 ≈ 0.48.
- Independence
- The meta-analysis synthesizes studies from multiple countries and methodologies, independent from the WBI's US-specific survey.
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[3] Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health (via PMC) — Workplace Bullying and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis on Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Data
Workplace Bullying and Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis on Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Data- Statistic
Exposure to workplace bullying is significantly associated with mental health problems, PTSD symptoms, burnout, and suicidal ideation- Excerpt
“"Being a target of systematic mistreatment at the workplace is associated with reduced affective and attitudinal well-being, mental and somatic health problems, sleep problems, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, sickness absence, and suicidal ideation." ”
- Source data from
- 2015-08-18
- Accessed
- 2026-04-18 · archived copy
- Calculation
- This source is used primarily for the health-outcome context rather than prevalence. The meta-analysis (137 cross-sectional effect sizes from 66 independent samples, N=77,721) establishes that workplace bullying is not merely unpleasant but is associated with clinically significant mental health outcomes, reinforcing the "underrated" myth framing.