Bullying Workplace Issues and Concerns

Workplace Issues - Bullying
Introduction
The effect bullying has on nurses at work has been well documented. Various research articles have suggested a number of strategies that could be implemented so as to rein in this destructive behavior. This text concerned itself with the impact of workplace bullying in a nursing environment and the approaches that have been highlighted to end the same. In so doing, the text will assess and evaluate two articles on the same topic, i.e. Psychological Distress and Workplace Bullying among Registered Nurses by Berry, Gillespie, Fisher, Gormley, and Haynes; and Countering Unprofessional Behaviors among Nurses in the Workplace by Filipova.
Discussion
The cost of bullying at the organizational level is immense. This is more so the case on the financial, personnel, patient care, and reputational fronts. As Berry, Gillespie, Fisher, Gormley, and Haynes (2016) point out, registered nurses often find themselves working in difficult environments as a consequence of workplace bullying. In their study seeking to assess workplace bullying as well as psychological distress among registered nurses, Berry et al. (2016) find that workplace bullying has a wide range of consequences. The personnel implications of workplace bullying are especially serious as they impact the professional performance of nurses – in what could negatively affect patient care initiatives and by extension, the outcome of various nursing and medical interventions. It is important to note that nurses who find themselves in a setting where bullying is prevalent are likely to have lower morale as well as job satisfaction in comparison to their counterparts working in a bullying-free workplace.
Low levels of morale and job satisfaction are likely to negatively impact productivity – effectively meaning that those affected can no longer guarantee high-quality care (Huntington, Gilmour, Tuckett, Neville, Wilson, and Turner, 2011). In such a case, the reputation of the hospital ends up suffering, with the financial implications being decreased revenues. It should also be noted that psychological distress as a consequence of workplace bullying increases the risk for medical errors and hence compromises patient safety – effectively increasing the likelihood for legal action against the hospital. On the basis of these implications, the relevance of implementing the most appropriate interventions to rein in the consequences identified by the authors cannot be overstated.
According to Berry et al. (2016), nursing leaders have a significant role to play on this front. This is more so the case when it comes to their place in the resolution of interpersonal conflicts in an attempt to ensure that such conflicts do not mutate into working place bullying incidences. In seeking to suggest ways and approaches of countering workplace behaviors that could be deemed unprofessional amongst nurses, Filipova (2018) “investigates the association of authentic leadership (AL) and perceived organizational support to workplace bullying among a sample of licensed practical nurses (LPNs).” It is important to note that in an assertion similar to that of Berry et al. (2016), Filipova (2018) is of the opinion that workplace bullying has significant negative consequences. According to the author, in addition to affecting the psychological well-being of nurses, workplace bullying also negatively affects the physical health of nurses. In the final analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that to rein in bulling at the workplace, there is need for not only nurse leaders to be trained on authentic leadership, but also for the implementation of effective organizational support initiatives.
Conclusion
Workplace bullying is prevalent in many places of work. In the past, the issue has received widespread attention based on its impact on not only the psychological, but also the physical health and wellbeing of affected workers. There are various strategies that have been suggested in the past to address nurse bullying. The relevance of leadership in this endeavor cannot be overstated. This is particularly the case given that the problem of bullying is likely to thrive in instances of ineffective nurse leadership.



















References
Berry, P. A., Gillespie, G. L., Fisher, B. S., Gormley, D., & Haynes, J. T. (2016). Psychological Distress and Workplace Bullying Among Registered Nurses. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(3), 4.
Filipova, A. A. (2018). Countering Unprofessional Behaviors among Nurses in the Workplace. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 48(10), 487-494.
Huntington, A., Gilmour, J., Tuckett, A., Neville, S., Wilson, D. & Turner, C. (2011). Is Anybody Listening? A Qualitative Study of Nurses’ Reflections on Practice. Journal of Clinical Nursing; 20(9), 1413-1422.