Abstract

Session presented on: Thursday, July 25, 2013:

Purpose: Workplace bullying is prevalent abuse consisting of offensive behaviours humiliating or intimidating others at work (Carbo and Hughes, 2010). Incidence rates vary with abuse type and measurement methods but rates are increasing and workplace violence is identified as an international problem (World Health Organization, n.d.). We know that workplace bullying has effects on physiological, psychological, social, and economic health (MacIntosh, 2005). Our purpose was to study what is less well-known: how people bullied at work promote health and approach work afterwards.

Methods: We used grounded theory methods of constant comparison, simultaneous data collection and analysis, and theoretical coding. Through separate grounded theory studies, we developed substantive theories of how bullied people promote health and engage in work. We recruited community samples and recorded semi-structured interviews with 36 men and 40 women in Canada. They worked in many types of workplaces and lived in urban and rural locations. Ages and education varied.

Results: In these studies, we identified what was problematic for bullied participants and we identified basic processes they used to address central problems. Here, I discuss the central problems participants experienced, how problems interfered with promoting health, and how bullied people managed to resume promoting health.

Conclusion: I discuss actions to help people promote health during and after bullying and identify how professionals can assist in restoring health promotion practices. I make recommendations for policy and workplace strategies to create respectful workplaces to promote worker health overall.

Author Details

Judith A. MacIntosh, RN, BN, MScN, PhD

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Type

Presentation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Grounded Theory, Health Promotion, Workplace Bullying

Conference Name

24th International Nursing Research Congress

Conference Host

Sigma Theta Tau International

Conference Location

Prague, Czech Republic

Conference Year

2013

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Share

COinS
 

Health promotion in the context of workplace bullying

Prague, Czech Republic

Session presented on: Thursday, July 25, 2013:

Purpose: Workplace bullying is prevalent abuse consisting of offensive behaviours humiliating or intimidating others at work (Carbo and Hughes, 2010). Incidence rates vary with abuse type and measurement methods but rates are increasing and workplace violence is identified as an international problem (World Health Organization, n.d.). We know that workplace bullying has effects on physiological, psychological, social, and economic health (MacIntosh, 2005). Our purpose was to study what is less well-known: how people bullied at work promote health and approach work afterwards.

Methods: We used grounded theory methods of constant comparison, simultaneous data collection and analysis, and theoretical coding. Through separate grounded theory studies, we developed substantive theories of how bullied people promote health and engage in work. We recruited community samples and recorded semi-structured interviews with 36 men and 40 women in Canada. They worked in many types of workplaces and lived in urban and rural locations. Ages and education varied.

Results: In these studies, we identified what was problematic for bullied participants and we identified basic processes they used to address central problems. Here, I discuss the central problems participants experienced, how problems interfered with promoting health, and how bullied people managed to resume promoting health.

Conclusion: I discuss actions to help people promote health during and after bullying and identify how professionals can assist in restoring health promotion practices. I make recommendations for policy and workplace strategies to create respectful workplaces to promote worker health overall.