“We Are Our Own Worst Enemies”: Workplace Bullying Among Nurses and Its Implications on Healthcare Workers and Job Performance: A Multi‐Facility Study in the Tamale Metropolis

TL;DR

This study shows that workplace bullying is common among nurses in Ghana, affecting their mental health and job performance, and suggests measures to address it.

Contribution

The study provides new empirical evidence on the prevalence and impact of nurse-to-nurse bullying in specific hospitals in the Tamale Metropolis.

Findings

Most nurses had witnessed bullying, and over a third had been victims themselves.

Female nurses were more likely to be both perpetrators and targets of bullying.

Nurses in the surgical ward were less likely to experience bullying than those in the Outpatient Department.

Abstract

Workplace bullying is an important issue confronting the nursing profession, with victims described as being part of an oppressed group. The number of attacks and acts of violence that staff direct at each other in the workplace is alarmingly high and cannot be ignored.

This study assessed the prevalence and impact of workplace bullying of nurses by other nurses among those working in three major hospitals in the Tamale Metropolis, Ghana.

Data for this study were collected from Tamale Teaching Hospital, Tamale Central Hospital, and Tamale West Hospital using a descriptive cross‐sectional multi‐facility study design with a quantitative approach to data collection. A proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to recruit 338 nurses from the three hospitals. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data, following approval from the Tamale Teaching Hospital Research and Development Unit and the Northern Regional Health Directorate, from January 2022 to March 2022. Stata for Windows V16.0 was used to analyse the data. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to explore the factors associated with the prevalence of perceived workplace bullying among nurses. Confidence intervals were computed at a 95% confidence level, and a p‐value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant.

The majority of respondents (85.5%) indicated they had observed workplace bullying before, and 50.6% had witnessed the bullying of a nurse by another nurse. A little over one‐third had been victims of workplace bullying. Females constituted a higher proportion of both the perpetrators (53.0%) and the main targets (80.2%) of workplace bullying. Additionally, 34.6% reported having the intention to travel abroad to practise nursing as a result of observing bullying or being victims themselves. Multivariable analysis showed that the odds of experiencing workplace bullying were 63% lower among nurses working in the surgical ward compared to those in the Outpatient Department (AOR: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.15–0.91, p = 0.030).

This study revealed that workplace bullying is prevalent among nurses in the three main hospitals within the Tamale Metropolis. Most respondents had witnessed workplace bullying, and a little over one‐third had been victims themselves. Workplace bullying is a measurable issue that negatively affects nurses' mental health and job performance. Therefore, nursing leaders should organise regular sensitisation programmes to raise awareness of the impact of workplace bullying. Additionally, hospital management should encourage nurses to report instances of bullying, establish disciplinary committees to address such cases, punish offenders, and protect those who witness or are victims of bullying.

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