by Mark Perrett
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by Mark Perrett
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A few very brief notes on an article from De Cieri (2019) titled, “๐๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ก๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐: ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ญ๐๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐จ”
This study involved an online survey of members of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victoria). Of the 69,927 members, 4,891 completed the survey. 42% of respondents reported experiencing bullying at work during the previous 12 months.
Important note: This doesn’t mean that 42% of nurses experience bullying, it means that 42% of the people who completed the survey reported having experienced bullying. Are people who have experienced bullying more likely to have completed the survey than those who haven’t?
It found that organisational factors were a better predictor of bullying than demographics.
Bullying from 3 directions was explored with a brief summary of findings at each level as follows:
๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐
– Women are less likely to experience downward bullying than men (men are more likely)
– Older employees (over 36) are more likely to experience bullying (up to 10x more likely than younger workers)
– Greater bureaucracy increases rates of bullying
– Those employed in workplaces with a greater focus on OHS leading indicators, a higher prioritisation of OHS and those with greater supervisor support for safety were less likely to experience downward bullying
๐๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐
– No gender difference as a predictor of horizontal bullying
– Greater bureaucracy increases rates of bullying
– Respondents employed in workplaces with a greater focus on OHS leading indicators, a higher prioritisation of OHS, and those with greater supervisor support for safety were less likely to experience horizontal bullying.
๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐
– Women are less likely to experience upward bullying than men (Men were more likely)
– Older workers are more likely to experience upward bullying
– Greater bureaucracy = higher rates of upward bullying
– Greater supervisor support for safety = less likely to experience bullying
๐๐ค, ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐?
The following are likely to prevent bullying of nurses in Victorian hospitals (I think these will also apply in other industries and sectors, but this study is specific to the health setting – what do you think?):
– Reduce bureaucracy
– Prioritise safety
– Improve supervisor support for safety
– Increase the focus on lead indicators
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