Background Workplace violence (WPV) has been associated with an elevated risk of poor well-being. Limited studies investigate the relation between WPV and self-reported physical or mental health in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This study examines the association between WPV and self-reported physical and mental health among employed adults residing in Lebanon.

Methods This is a national cross-sectional study of employed adults residing in Lebanon identified through random digital dialling. Data were collected through a telephone survey between January and February 2024. Three outcomes: physical health, depression, and anxiety were investigated. Participants were asked to report their physical health using PROMIS Global Health (GPH) v1.2 scale. Physical health was then dichotomized, where good physical health was defined by being in the top 25th quantile of GPH standardised scores. Depression and Anxiety were defined as having PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores ≥10, respectively. Exposure was self-reported physical or psychological violence in the workplace. Confounders of the associations were identified using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs). Multiple logistic regression models estimated the association between WPV and self-reported physical health, depression, and anxiety.

Results Primary results included 787 employed participants of median (IQR) age: 38 years (29-46 years), where 546 (69%) were males, and 215 (27%) completed college. Of those participants, 159 (21%) experienced physical or psychological violence at workplace. Moreover, 595 (76%) reported poor physical health, 291 (37%) were classified as depressed, and 222 (28%) were classified as having anxiety. Being exposed to WPV significantly decreased the odds of self-reporting good physical health [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.36 (95%CI: 0.21-0.62)] and significantly increased the odds of depression (aOR: 2.53 (95%CI:1.73-3.69)) and anxiety (aOR: 2.22 (95%CI:1.51-3.24)) accounting for age, sex, education, marital status, urbanicity classification of residential area.

Conclusion This study highlights the impact of WPV on an adult’s physical and mental well-being among employees in Lebanon. This is a cross-sectional study; causality cannot be inferred. Comprehensive policies and interventions that address workplace physical and psychological violence are also needed.