Workplace Bullying within Nursing Stuff

Abstract

Introduction: Workplace bullying is a research field worldwide, as it influences negatively the employees, who have been either victims or watchers. The practices the victim is facing may focus on the psychological and physical intimidation. Purpose: This review aims to investigate the existence and the frequency of workplace bullying in nursing staff. Material-Method: A thorough investigation of the literature was carried out. The electronic databases used are Google Scholar, PubMed and Wiley Online Library. Articles written in both English and Greek were used. Keywords that were used to perform the search are “workplace bullying”, “mobbing”, “harassment” and “nursing”. Secondary search took place using the references in the articles found during the initial search. Results: Workplace bullying, is a real phenomenon among the employees, and is more intense among the nursing staff. The phenomenon is also observed in Greece, but relevant studies are limited. Negative effects for the victim have significant impact both in their professional and personal lives, contributing to a negative climate in the organization as whole. Workplace bullying can be responsible for a wide variety of psychological and social problems, which can include lower productivity at work, absence from the workplace, burnout, anxiety, stress and even depression. Conclusions: Given that Health professionals exercise a profession particularly important for human life, more effort should be directed initially towards the acknowledgment of the phenomenon, and consequently towards limiting or even eliminating its effects through the appropriate steps. To achieve that, an interdisciplinary cooperation of professionals is needed so that relevant policies can be developed.