No one heals himself by wounding others! Workplace bullying and presenteeism: the roles of depression, anxiety and toxic leadership

Purpose The purpose of the study is to test the precursors of presenteeism. The research has examined the relationship between workplace bullying and presenteeism via depression and anxiety. Furthermore, moderating the role of toxic leadership is also investigated which may strengthen or weaken workplace bullying and mental health relationships. Design/methodology/approach The mediations and moderation models were tested in SPSS software through the Preacher and Hayes PROCESS macro technique. Data was gathered from 165 employees, working in public and private universities of Pakistan. Findings The results supported that depression and anxiety act as mediators in the relationship between bullying and presenteeism. Further, toxic leadership moderated the relationship between bullying and depression, bullying and anxiety. Originality/value As per the author’s knowledge, rare studies have determined that bullying can increase mental health issues and presenteeism in employees. Bullying and toxic leadership together increase the loss of psychological resources that force employees to work while feeling sick.