• Beate Muschalla and Michael Linden.
• From the Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany (BM); Psychosomatic Rehabilitation Research Group, Charité University of Medicine, Berlin, Germany (BM, ML); and the Department of Behavioral Medicine, Rehabilitation Center Seehof, Teltow, Germany (ML). beate.muschalla@gmx.de.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2014 Jul 1; 27 (4): 486-94.

PurposeWork-related anxieties are frequent and have a negative effect on the occupational performance of patients and absence due to sickness. Most important is workplace phobia, that is, panic when approaching or even thinking of the workplace. This study is the first to estimate the prevalence of workplace phobia among primary care patients suffering from chronic mental disorders and to describe which illness-related or workplace-specific context factors are associated with workplace phobia.MethodsA convenience sample of 288 primary care patients with chronic mental disorders (70% women) seen by 40 primary care clinicians in Germany were assessed using a standardized diagnostic interview about mental disorders and workplace problems. Workplace phobia was assessed by the Workplace Phobia Scale and a structured Diagnostic and Statical Manual of Mental Disorders-based diagnostic interview. In addition, capacity and participation restrictions, illness severity, and sick leave were assessed.ResultsWorkplace phobia was found in 10% of patients with chronic mental disorders, that is, approximately about 3% of all general practice patients. Patients with workplace phobia had longer durations of sick leave than patients without workplace phobia and were impaired to a higher degree in work-relevant capacities. They also had a higher degree of restrictions in participation in other areas of life.ConclusionsWorkplace phobia seems to be a frequent problem in primary care. It may behoove primary care clinicians to consider workplace-related anxiety, including phobia, particularly when patients ask for a work excuse for nonspecific somatic complaints.© Copyright 2014 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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