Prevalence of Workplace Bullying and Its Associated Factors at a Multi-Regional Saudi Arabian Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study

Relationship Between Personality Traits and Workplace Bullying Victims in Saudi Arabia

Background Workplace bullying is persistent aggressive behavior, including verbal or physical abuse, exhibited in a working environment. The impact of workplace bullying in any industry leads to negative outcomes in multiple dimensions, such as issues with mental health, problems with physical health, and a reduction in productivity in the workplace. This study aims to measure the relationship between personality traits and workplace bullying victims. Moreover, it explores how personality traits predict being a victim of workplace bullying. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted among 625 participants from various regions of Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a self-administered survey, which included sociodemographic questions, the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) for bullying assessment, and the Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI-10) for personality trait assessment. The statistical analysis encompassed descriptive statistics and inferential tests such as the correlation test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis test. These analyses were conducted using the SPSS software version 27.0.1 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results Personal-related bullying was more prevalent compared to work-related bullying, particularly "facing disregard of opinion" was the most frequent type of bullying. Moreover, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience were demonstrated as major self-perceived personality traits among participants. Some sociodemographic factors were reported to be significantly associated with both bullying and personality trait scores. Personality traits such as conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extraversion were adversely correlated while openness to experience and neuroticism were positively correlated with bullying. Conclusions Our study illustrates the current prevalence of workplace bullying in Saudi Arabia and its impact on participants' mental health and productivity. We identified a significant correlation between self-perceived personality traits and the risk of experiencing workplace bullying. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, enabling them to develop targeted interventions to reduce bullying within work settings in Saudi Arabia.

Personality traits and workplace bullying among contract trainee doctors in Malaysia

Introduction

Workplace bullying (WPB) among trainee doctors is a concerning problem in Malaysia. However, there is still limited understanding regarding the influence of trainee doctors' personality traits on WPB. Furthermore, the impact of contract employment status on WPB among trainee doctors is not yet well-defined. To address these gaps, this study was aimed to determine the prevalence of WPB among trainee doctors and to examine the association of sociodemographic characteristics, job characteristics, and personality traits with WPB among trainee doctors in Malaysia.

Methods

A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted with 264 trainee doctors in Selangor, Malaysia. Eligible participants were provided with sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, job characteristics questionnaire, WPB questionnaire, and the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10). Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between: (i) sociodemographic characteristics and WPB, (ii) job characteristics and WPB; and (iii) personality traits and WPB. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between the significant independent variables (as determined from Chi-square tests) and WPB.

Results

The prevalence of WPB was 45.1 %, with verbal abuse being the most common form of bullying (46.2 %). Chi-square test showed that only marital status and low agreeableness were significantly associated with WPB. Subsequently, multiple logistic regression demonstrated that being married (OR: 1.866; 95 % CI: 1.077-3.234) and low agreeableness (OR: 2.287; 95 % CI: 1.169-4.473) were significant predictors of WPB.

Conclusion

The high prevalence of WPB among trainee doctors could be attributed by marriage and low agreeableness personality traits in this population. In order to minimise WPB and maximise workforce potential, it is essential for healthcare institutions and medical training programmes to recognise this vulnerabilities and take steps to protect and support trainee doctors who are married and/or with low agreeableness personality trait.

The effect of workplace bullying on fatigue in school teachers: the moderating roles of gender and spirituality

Workplace bullying is quite prevalent and has been linked to many health complaints. The relationship between workplace bullying and fatigue was documented in previous studies. However, knowledge on how this relationship develops with the interplaying factors of spirituality and gender was not investigated before especially among schoolteachers. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between workplace bullying and fatigue as moderated by spirituality and gender among schoolteachers in Lebanon. This is a cross-sectional study, where 215 schoolteachers aged 18 till 64 and employed for a minimum of 6 months were recruited through systematic sampling. Six private and six public schools in Beirut participated in the study. Online questionnaires using validated scales were used. Both simple and multiple ordinal logistic regression were performed for the statistical analysis. Results showed that workplace bullying is a predictor of fatigue with an odds ratio of 2.74 and p-value 0.008. Gender was found to be an effect modifier for this relationship, mainly among females (OR 2.66, p-value 0.047) but not among males. Anxiety and depression also predicted higher levels of fatigue (OR 5.75, p-value 0.017). Spirituality did not moderate this relationship.

The Relationship between Bullying and Emotional State among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Correlation Study

Introduction

Bullying behavior by nursing students is a serious problem that has contributed to the drop in numbers in the nursing profession.

Aim

The study investigated the relationship between bullying and the emotional state of undergraduate nursing students.

Methods

The study used a cross-sectional correlation design with a sample of 286 undergraduate nursing students from multiple nursing colleges located in the western region of Saudi Arabia. The 21-item depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) was used to measure the study outcomes. A revised version of the Bullying Assessment Questionnaire was used to assess bullying experiences. Statistical analyses, including a t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and a one-way between-subjects ANOVA, determined the significance of the relationship between study variables.

Results

There was a high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms among Saudi nursing students. Most of the respondents reported mild to extremely severe symptoms of depression (58.7%), anxiety (58%), and stress (44.8%). Around 90.1% of the nursing students reported exposure to a form of bullying over the previous 12 months. The most common items reported as part of this behavior included continually being assigned tasks beyond their capacity. Family members were the most frequently reported source of bullying (29.8%), followed by nursing faculties (20.9%). Bullying behavior was positively correlated with students' scores for depression, r (284) = 0.49, n = 286, p < 0.01; anxiety, r (284) = 0.54, p < 0.01; and stress, r (284) = 0.56, p < 0.01.

Conclusion

The study's findings raise concerns and highlight the importance of decreasing the risk of depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate nursing students. Nurse educators must ensure that students receive psychological support to decrease these psychological outcomes. Regularly monitoring bullying behavior is essential to maintain students' psychological stability, which could eventually reduce professional dropout rates.

Unveiling the Prevalence and Factors of Workplace Bullying in Primary Healthcare Settings: A Cross-Sectional Study in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia

Introduction Bullying in workplaces can lead to serious and deleterious effects on both the health and well-being of individuals. In a healthcare environment, bullying can lead to life-threatening adverse outcomes for patients and healthcare workers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and factors of bullying among primary healthcare workers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods This cross-sectional study targeted physicians and nurses in Jeddah healthcare centers and used a Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) to evaluate participants' exposure to bullying. The chi-square test was used to examine the relationship between the outcome and other variables. Results The majority of participants (59.8%) had more than 10 years of experience and were nurses (56.6%). The majority of participants (69.4%) scored below 33 on the NAQ-R scale, while 19.9% scored between 33 and 45, and 10.7% scored over 45. Most perpetrators were references/patients (22.4%), supervisors (19.2%), department managers, or general managers (19.2%). Of all participants, 28.8% had experienced workplace bullying (WPB), and 31.7% witnessed it over the past five years. Being subjected to WPB (P < 0.001), being bullied by a manager (P < 0.001), and experiencing and witnessing WPB over the past five years (P < 0.001) correlated with higher NAQ-R scores. Years of experience were significantly associated with NAQ-R scores (P = 0.016). Conclusions This study indicates bullying among a third of healthcare workers, mainly perpetrated by patients and managers. Years of experience and manager offenses, experiencing and witnessing WPB were associated with higher bullying rates. Therefore, there is an urgent need for antibullying policies, awareness campaigns, education programs, effective communication, conflict resolution, leadership training, and transparent culture to address this problem.

Sexual Harassment and Mental Health of Female Healthcare Workers in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background In this study, we aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify the correlates of sexual harassment among female healthcare workers in a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted among 432 female healthcare workers in both Arabic and English languages. The questionnaire consisted of five sections which included the sociodemographic characteristics, a sexual harassment survey, the Kessler distress scale, social support, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Unadjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to identify the significant factors associated with harassment. Results Sexual harassment was reported by 15.5% of the participants, with verbal harassment being the most commonly reported (66%), followed by physical harassment (34%). Around three-fourths of harassment acts took place during the daytime, and 18% of the participants preferred to keep quiet about it. Moderate distress [2.38 (1.17, 4.84)] and severe distress [2.31 (1.09, 4.90)], feeling hopeless [2.86 (1.47, 5.57)] and feeling depressed [3.70 (1.62, 8.48)] were significantly associated with sexual harassment. Low self-esteem items, such as "I don't have good qualities" [4.78 (2.0, 11.43)], "don't have much to be proud of" [2.10 (1.22, 3.63)], "wish that I have more respect for myself" [2.30 (1.36, 3.90)], and "inclined to feel that I am a failure" [2.27 (1.24, 4.16)] were significantly associated with sexual harassment. Conclusions It is important for all employees to know about their rights and report all types of harassment acts. Counseling sexually harassed victims should focus on improving the self-esteem and mental distress of these women. Prevention of harassment against female healthcare workers can improve their mental health as well as their quality of work.

Prevalence of Aggressive Behavior Toward Fellows, Residents, and Nurses at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Background Workplace bullying (WPB) is a form of mistreatment toward an individual manifested by physical, verbal, or indirect aggression. Affected victims display a wide range of signs and symptoms that impact their health. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of aggressive behavior toward healthcare workers and its effects on job satisfaction, general health, and mental health. Methodology An online survey comprising a revised version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) was distributed to the fellows, residents, and nurses working in a tertiary care hospital. The survey collected information regarding the group's demographics and their exposure to WPB encountered in the work environment while maintaining confidentiality. Survey results were analyzed using SPSS Statistics version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results Among the 339 participants who filled the survey, 53% of healthcare practitioners in different services had experienced some form of WPB. Among the targeted group, it was noted that female gender (50%), age between 31 and 41 years (57.03%), nurses (51.98%), non-Saudi practitioners (41.94%), and those working in inpatient settings (49.74%) were the most commonly affected individuals in the medical facility. Furthermore, higher bullying prevalence was correlated with lower job satisfaction and mental health levels. Conclusions Age, gender, job, and nationality were factors associated with increased susceptibility to WPB. WPB in any facility is an unfortunate event, especially in a healthcare setting. It affects health practitioners by decreasing job satisfaction, jeopardizing health, and increasing the risk of harm to patients. WPB will eventually have a negative impact on the medical facility and the healthcare sector. Hence, hospital administrations should be alarmed about the rise in WPB, and adequate measures must be taken to deal with the root cause of the problem.

Prevalence of lateral violence in nurse workplace: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of inter-nurse lateral violence (LV) reported in current studies is inconsistent, ranging from 7% to 83%. The purpose of this study is to quantify the prevalence of LV in nurses' workplaces.

METHODS

Systematic review and meta-analysis. Cochrane, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, CNKI and Wanfang databases were searched for relevant studies (up to 27 January 2021). We included cross-sectional, case-control or cohort studies in which both abusers and victims were nurses. Studies that did not provide specific data on abusers were excluded. Stata V.16.0 was used for statistical analysis. Fixed-effect or random-effect model was adopted according to heterogeneity, which was evaluated by Cochran's Q and I² values. The main indicator was LV prevalence. Sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis and meta-regression were performed to investigate the sources of heterogeneity.

RESULTS

A total of 14 studies with 6124 nurses were included. Further, 13 articles with 5745 nurses were included in the meta-analysis, and the pooled prevalence of LV among nurses was 33.08% (95% CI: 23.41% to 42.75%, p<0.05; I²=99.0%). The remaining one study containing 370 samples reported that the prevalence of inter-nurse LV was 7.92%. Subgroup analysis showed that region, sample size, sampling, study's quality, response rate and publication time might not be the sources of heterogeneity. Meta-regression indicated that sample size had the main influence on model heterogeneity. Egger's test showed the existence of publication bias (p=0.03).

DISCUSSION

The prevalence of inter-nurse LV is high in nurse workplace. It is suggested that scholars pay more attention to the cultural differences of inter-nurse LV between regions in the future. This study has the following limitations: there is a lack of studies on LV prevalence in many countries; lack of standard assessment tools; no grey literature was searched.

The Prevalence and The Relationship of Workplace Bullying and Nurses Turnover Intentions: A Cross Sectional Study

Introduction: Sustaining a healthy work environment is a major challenge for health care organizations worldwide. Nursing professionals are often exposed to workplace bullying, which imposes serious challenges to nursing retention. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of workplace bullying and turnover intention among nurses, and to investigate the relationship between workplace bullying and nurse turnover. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design. Convenience sampling was applied, whereby 347 nurses working in a tertiary medical city in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were recruited. Data were collected using the Negative Acts Questionnaire and the Anticipated Turnover Scale. Results: The rate of workplace bullying was high, bullying occurred at a cumulative rate of 33.4% (n = 116). Work related bullying behaviors formed the most common bullying acts with (34.5%) followed by personal bullying with (31.1%) meanwhile physical intimidating accounted by (25.6%). Among the participants, 31.7% exhibited a high turnover intention. The demographic variable age was revealing an inverse correlation with workplace bullying. There was a positive significant correlation between workplace bullying and turnover intentions (r = .24, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The alarming prevalence of both bullying and turnover intention among participants confirms that when nurses are exposed to workplace bullying, they are more likely to demonstrate an increased intention for turnover. Managers are urged to use proper enforcement of anti-bullying policies along with education and training to create a healthy environment and mitigate workplace bullying.