Workplace Bullying in the Healthcare Setting

Running head: WORKPLACE BULLYING IN THE HEALTHCARE SETTING
Workplace Bullying in the Healthcare Setting
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WORKPLACE BULLYING IN THE HEALTHCARE SETTING 2
Introduction
Workplace bullying involves aggressive behaviors and hostilities that generally occur
during interpersonal interactions in the healthcare settings. These social manifestations of
bullying could be intimidations, harassments, aggressions, victimizations, emotional abuse and
mistreatments. Such treatments can be classified based on the intentionality, frequency or
duration. Martin (2013) denotes that the academic literature and publications are expanding with
specific studies on bullying. For instance, restaurant employees, university professors,
transportation workers, teachers, and police officers among others are the most common
occupations greatly impacted by bullying. However, this paper focuses on how it affects the
healthcare setting; it causes, and impacts in general within the health industry.
History
In the healthcare setting, the bullying can be perceived as imbalance and abuse of power
between the penetrator and the target. Ullah, Siddiqui, Zafar, and Iqbal (2018) denote that one
thus lack inadequate support due to their inability to protect and defend himself from such
aggressions. One is hence forced to cope with negative and constant social interactions, insulting
remarks, and intense pressure. Such bullying definitely has negative consequences on the mental
health and wellbeing of the employees thus the dismal performance of the healthcare
organizations.
The influencing workplace bullying factors can be grouped based on the five existing
categories: subjects, social interactions, group dynamics, working environments and
organizational, societal, and political levels. In addition, bullying in the healthcare settings

WORKPLACE BULLYING IN THE HEALTHCARE SETTING 3
happens as a result of specific interactions among factors influencing the individual and the
organization. There are individual based and organizational based influencing factors.
These individual influencing bullying factors can at per be attached to the personality
types and personal predispositions. Gender, age and seniority are just but a selection of such
factors. Based on the gender factor, both men and women are equally prone to workplace
bullying except for sexual harassment (Raja, Javed, and Abbas, 2018). Both genders can suffer
discrimination as a result of positions held within the organization. In relation to the age factor,
young people, mostly under 25 years of age are more likely to suffer a greater level of bullying
as compared to the older employees. In a systematic review, Thompson (2016) denotes that the
health care environment is also greatly affected, especially among nurses due to double
supervision and work overload they are often subjected to by the chief nurses and doctors. In
support of this assentation, the study denotes that 87% of burses in Japan have at one point
experienced or are experiencing workplace bullying from their seniors mainly this in the public
sectors.
Organizational Culture
The existence of very strict norms, high bureaucracy levels, and excessively high job
security are common factors generating workplace environments vulnerable to bullying.
However, such environments make bullying invisible and workers often find it hard to resign.
For instance, Raja, Javed, and Abbas (2018) provide a wide range summary of Australian studies
hence concluding that bullying prevalence is very high in public sectors than the private health
service providers. Additionally, Ullah, Siddiqui, Zafar, and Iqbal (2018) denote that 4.4% of

WORKPLACE BULLYING IN THE HEALTHCARE SETTING 4
public health educators and health care employees are occasionally bullied by their students or
patients respectively while in the process of completing their daily responsibilities.
Leadership Theories
Leadership has long been an aspect of business, industry, educational, military, health
service debate, and medical. Leadership may be a vexed and complex concept and it is usually
regarded as connected to theories of leadership and connected with raised hierarchical ranks and
authority. Leadership may similarly be said to entail bringing individuals around those principles
and assisting individuals get through change. There are several leadership theories. These
comprise big bang theory, great man theory, contingency or situational theory, style theory,
transactional leadership, transformational leadership, breakthrough leadership, authentic
leadership, and servant leadership.
Recommendations for Effective Prevention Measures
For many studies, Raja, Javed, and Abbas (2018) denote that the advances in
understanding the primary circumstances preceding workplace bullying of if great importance in
the effort of developing more effective prevention measures and intervention tools to curb this
social challenge. The study denotes that workplace bullying and violence occurs more frequently
than in all other private-sector industries. The highest number of incidences occurs in the
accident and emergency departments, psychiatric wards, as well as high-dependency units.
However, bullying vary significantly from one country to another or even within the same
country. In Europe for instance, Martin (2013) denotes that the inferences vary depending on the
estimation methods being utilized but the prevalence of workplace bullying in the healthcare
setting is 4-10%. The prevalence is slightly higher in Australia as 11.3% of workers complain of