Introduction Workplace bullying is increasingly recognised as a serious public health issue in the workplace because of its increasing prevalence worldwide and negative health impacts on employee’s health. The consequences vary from stress and depression to psychosomatic problems including cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of workplace bullying and its association with metabolic syndrome among private industry workers in Malaysia.

Methods Workers undergoing Health Screening Program (HSP) by Social Security Organisation Malaysia in a private healthcare laboratory throughout Malaysia were recruited into the study. The targeted sample size was 1580 participants throughout the country. Workplace bullying was measured using Modified Negative Acts Questionnaire and Malaysian Workplace Bullying Index. Data collected from the HSP was analysed to determine the presence of metabolic syndrome. The relationship between the presence of workplace bullying and metabolic syndrome was analysed using SPSS software.

Results Preliminary results showed most of the respondents experienced more on workrelated bullying than person-related bullying. Age and waist circumference were significantly associated with workplace bullying. There was no significant association between workplace bullying and other parameters of metabolic syndrome. Data collection is still in progress and will be completed by February 2018.

Conclusion The prevalence of workplace bullying is related to age and possible obesity. Its association with metabolic syndrome is inconclusive for the time being.