Discrimination at work can take many forms, from unequal treatment because of sex or age to bias linked to origin or disability. Some employees face more than one at the same time. A new study from Germany suggests that young adults who experience several types of workplace discrimination are much more likely to show signs of depression.
Researchers at the LMU University Hospital in Munich and the Technical University of Dresden analysed questionnaire data from 1,066 young adults. The findings appear in BMC Psychology. The participants took part in a German study on occupational allergy risks in 2017 and 2018, and the average age was 31.
Just over half of the sample, 56.8 per cent, were women. Participants said whether they had experienced any of seven types of discrimination at work in the previous twelve months. Depressive symptoms were measured with a brief two-question screening tool, and the team used logistic regression to compare people who reported none, one, or two or more types.
Discrimination is unequal treatment of people because of a group they belong to, such as their sex, age or ethnic background. Odds describe how likely something is compared with how likely it is not, and an odds ratio compares the odds between two groups. Work stress means the strain a person feels from the demands of a job.
Discrimination because of sex was the most commonly reported type, at 6.1 per cent of participants. Some 2.5 per cent reported two or more types, and 104 people, or 9.8 per cent, screened positive for depressive symptoms. Before accounting for work stress, those reporting two or more types had more than six times the odds of depressive symptoms compared with those who reported none.
After adjusting for work stress, the odds were still almost four times higher. One type of discrimination was linked to depressive symptoms too, but that link weakened after accounting for work stress and was no longer clear. The pattern held when the team looked at women alone and at people in formal employment.
The researchers argue that facing several forms of unfair treatment at once may amount to a heavier and more constant burden. Chronic stress is one way in which such experiences could affect the mind and body. The study cannot confirm that explanation.
The study has clear limits. The data were collected at one time, so they cannot show that discrimination causes depression, and depression could also colour how people recall their experiences. The sample was young, mostly born in Germany, and more highly educated than the general population, and fewer than half of the people invited took part. Few people reported discrimination, so the estimates are imprecise, and the results are driven mainly by discrimination based on sex.
Earlier research has linked workplace discrimination to poor mental health, but often looked at one type at a time. By counting several types together, this study adds weight to the idea that the more forms of discrimination a person faces, the greater the risk. The authors say efforts to reduce discrimination could help protect mental health.
