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Writer's pictureLIU Honors Journal

Bullying and Harassment in the Healthcare Workplace

Aisha Badar explores the roles that bullying and harassment have on employees' wellbeing and productivity within the healthcare environment.

Aisha Badar



The healthcare workplace is home to many healthcare professions such as doctors, nurses, therapists, surgeons, and more. Patients entrust healthcare facilities to give them the care that they desire. They may even describe these facilities as caring environments designed to help individuals in need.

However, healthcare workers often know that these descriptions are far from the truth. Only those who work in the healthcare community are able to understand what goes on inside these “caring” facilities. One of the main issues that many healthcare professionals face is bullying and harassment in their work environment. This toxic environment contaminates not only healthcare staff, but eventually all patients and clients as well. In this paper, we will analyze the impact of bullying and harassment in the healthcare environment.


The impact of bullying and harassment is an important issue when it comes to nursing. Nurses make up a majority of the healthcare profession and work in many healthcare settings. Without nurses, our hospitals, clinics, and more, would not run properly or safely. Poor behavior toward nurses can lead to many different issues, such as less working commitment, less care and compassion, and even resignations. A hostile and unsafe environment would only decrease the care and compassion that they were taught to give. Hospitals can become short-staffed, and as for the nurses that are there, they may begin to provide a poorer quality of care due to the stress they obtain. A domino effect would occur. An increase in bullying and harassment leads to a decrease in nurses and quality of care, leading to a decrease in overall patient care.


Unfortunately, the aforementioned troubles faced by nurses can also be seen in other fields of health care. Sharma and Prasad (2022) studied the relationship between bullying in healthcare and the organization’s well-being. The article drew their conclusions from 48 participant doctors located in India and found that “all 48 participating resident doctors reported at least one bullying incident…” (Sharma & Prasad, 2022, p. 83). The article provides five main suggestions on how the issue of bullying and harassment in the healthcare environment can be addressed. One suggestion stressed the importance of implementing a “zero-tolerance policy” against workplace bullying (Sharma & Prasad, 2022, p. 85) where any sort of harassment would not be tolerated. Based on this policy, we can assume that disciplinary action will be taken in favor of this zero-tolerance. The second suggestion made by the authors introduces the idea of awareness programs that can bring attention to the issue at hand. A third suggestion focuses on the creation of an independent body in healthcare organizations. This independent body will function as a site where victims of harassment and bullying can report their complaints without any type of intervention in their work life.


Although this solution seems very obvious and straightforward, many organizations lack this simple body that can house and address the complaints of many workers. Alongside the independent body, the fourth suggestion made by the authors defines how these complaints will be addressed. The authors explain in their fourth suggestion that “HR professionals with experience in healthcare must be employed to timely resolve interpersonal conflicts” (Sharma & Prasad, 2022, p. 85). Through this suggestion, we see efforts of gathering professionals who can not only address these conflicts but also do so in a timely manner. This highlights and prioritizes the professionalism that is needed in healthcare organizations, something that is often overlooked. Finally, the authors suggest an internal solution that calls attention to forgiveness and social motivation. Forgiveness is seen as a moderator in healthcare organizations, as it plays the role of a coping mechanism for many healthcare professionals. All in all, these suggestions made by the authors look for a solution to this ongoing problem.


One of the best solutions to address the problem of bullying and harassment in the healthcare workplace is to create an outlet where employees feel safe and comfortable reporting their conflicts. When bullied or harassed, employees become victims and deserve to feel comfortable when bringing attention to such a significant issue. Many healthcare workers often brush off their negative encounters in fear that reporting these issues can risk their jobs. Some may excuse the behavior of higher-ups, such as supervisors, because they are afraid of their so-called “power”. Others simply find no point in reporting their encounters because they know nothing will be done about it. This current generation is one that is not afraid to use their voices and speak up against injustice. Change is in the hands of the new generation entering the healthcare workplace who must create an organization where complaints can be made confidentially. Our healthcare workers need to feel safe and comfortable when reporting inexcusable behavior, otherwise, the cycle will endlessly continue. Not only do we need such an outlet, but we need these problems to be addressed through disciplinary action.


The findings presented in the research article highlight an issue that needs more attention. The healthcare community is a workplace that dominates society. Nurses, doctors, CNAs, and additional staff work towards the same common goal: to save lives and create quality patient care. However, it is impossible to save lives and regulate patient safety when the hospital environment in itself is unsafe. Bullying and harassment can harm our healthcare workers mentally. Without clear and concise mental well-being, how can our healthcare workers care for others? Patient safety is being put at risk, our healthcare workers are being ignored, and their work environment is unsafe. For these reasons, it is critical to draw attention to the issue of bullying and harassment in the healthcare workplace so that changes can be made. Sharma and Prasad (2022) showed us that no one is free from the bullying and harassment that they face in healthcare organizations. It is crucial to fix the issue at hand to increase the mental well-being of our healthcare workers and increase the effectiveness of patient care and safety.


References


1. Sharma, R., & Prasad, A. (2022). Exploring Relationship Between Workplace Bullying and Healthcare Organization’s Well-being: Mechanism of Psychological Contract Violation and Forgiveness. Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers, 47(2), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/02560909221108007


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