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KEYWORDS Workplace bullying / Patient care / Healthcare workers / Strategies
Bullying is a sensitive issue which is no longer confined to the school playground; adults are increasingly aware that workplace bullying is on the rise. Healthcare workers as well as patients are affected by bullying which can result in anxiety, dismay and powerlessness. The impact of workplace bullying on patient care is identified in this article as this is an under-researched area. The influence of the environment on workplace bullying is also considered. The NHS, like any other organisation, is characterised by circumstances that make bullying and harassment likely. Healthcare workers can minimise these and strategies are offered in this paper to make the workplace environment more positive from both an individual and an organisational perspective.
Introduction
Workplace bullying and harassment can not only have a devastating effect on the victim, but it can also negatively affect patients and colleagues. The healthcare environment can be complex and challenging for workers and it is often the prevailing work conditions that trigger bullying and harassment (Rändle 2006). In the NHS these include:
* Organisational change and uncertainty
* Inadequate training
* Pressure from above
* Unrealistic targets
* High stress levels.
Changes such as redundancies, reorganisation, or a change in government health policies may exacerbate certain behaviours and the current insecurities in the job market ultimately impact on how people treat each other. Not surprisingly then it appears workplace bullying is on the increase, with Heenan (2009) stating that 50% of healthcare workers experience workplace bullying, and this costs the NHS more than £325 million a year.
The central premise to this paper is that work should not hurt and solutions are offered to those interested in reducing the hurt and the prevalence of workplace bullying. To achieve this, traditional strategies will be mentioned but the main focus will be on personal strategies: the only thing you can truly control is how you choose to respond to workplace bullying. The potential impact of bullying on patient care will also be examined as this is an area of the literature which is generally ignored. I suggest that, while workplace bullying is happening, healthcare workers are unable to act fully in a caring and compassionate way...