Exploration of Workplace Bullying in Emergency and Critical Care Nurses in Cyprus

Abstract

BackgroundWorkplace bullying is considered as an extreme work-related stressor, associated with mental and physical burden.AimInvestigation of workplace bullying occurrence and related factors in Greek-Cypriot nurses employed in private and public emergency (emergency departments [EDs]) and critical care settings (intensive care units [ICUs], coronary critical care units [CCCUs]).MethodsA descriptive, cross-sectional correlation study was performed. Following informed consent, a convenience sample of 113 nurses agreed to participate in the study.ResultsThe response rate was 32.56%. 68.1% (N = 77) of the participants reported direct experience of workplace bullying as victims, while 57.5% (N = 65) reported experience of witnessing workplace bullying in others (indirect exposure). A statistically significantly higher frequency of direct workplace bullying victimization was observed in ICUs compared to EDs and CCCUs (p = .031), while both direct and indirect victimization were more often reported in participants in public hospitals (p < .003). There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of direct/indirect workplace bullying experiences between male and female participants (p = .772), while those holding a Master's degree reported more frequently experiences of and indirect bullying victimization (p = .001).ConclusionsThe present study presents data on the sociodemographic characteristics of critical and emergency nurses who become more often the target of bullying/mobbing behavior in Cyprus. Though, due to the low response rate further quantitative and qualitative studies are proposed.

Association Between Workplace Bullying Occurrence and Trauma Symptoms Among Healthcare Professionals in Cyprus

“…Yet, it should be stressed that neither STSS-M nor other similar instruments are diagnostic of PTSD; instead, the focus of relevant instruments is on identifying differences of the experienced PTSD symptoms across time or need for advanced assessment and support. Although the present data identified that a significant percentage of nurses experience debilitating psychological traumas after exposure to workplace bullying/mobbing, it is worth noting that the majority of them still show a tendency towards symptom underestimation and non-treatment seeking behaviors ( Aristidou et al, 2019 ). Moreover, in the present study a vast majority of participants (54/77; see Table 3 ) responded that they avoided reporting the bullying/mobbing experience because of thinking it was not important.…”