Workplace Bullying, Psychological Distress, and Job Satisfaction in Junior Doctors

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
LYN QUINE

Workplace bullying has been recognized as a major occupational stressor since the mid 1980s. A number of different terms have been used to describe it, including employee abuse, emotional abuse, mistreatment and neglect at work, mobbing, and harassment. In the United Kingdom, a number of reports from trades unions illustrating the pain, psychological distress, physical illness, and career damage suffered by the victims of bullying first drew attention to the issue. However, academic interest in the issue began only recently, and there are still few empirical studies. The most systematic research comes from Scandinavia, where there is strong public awareness and antibullying legislation.

Author(s):  
Uwe Jirjahn ◽  
Georgi Tsertsvadze

SummaryEmpirical studies on establishment-level codetermination usually focus on the impact of works councils on firm performance. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel, this is the first systematic research to examine the relationship between works councils and job satisfaction. It is shown that the relationship depends on the type of worker. The presence of a works council increases job satisfaction of full-time employed blue-collar workers. In general, councils do not have an influence on full-time employed white-collar workers. However, there is a negative association between works council presence and job satisfaction of managers. Furthermore, the presence of a workers council is associated with lower job satisfaction of non-full-time workers.


Author(s):  
Ieva Norkiene ◽  
Lina Jovarauskaite ◽  
Monika Kvedaraite ◽  
Encarl Uppal ◽  
Mandeep Kaur Phull ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant effect on healthcare globally. Additional pressure created by coronavirus adversely affected the mental health and psychological well-being of healthcare workers, leading many to question their desire and willingness to continue working in healthcare. This study aimed to identify predictors for career change ideation among healthcare professionals in two countries; Lithuania and the United Kingdom amid the coronavirus pandemic. In total, 610 healthcare professionals from Lithuania and the UK (285 and 325, respectively) participated in a survey from May to August 2020. Psychological distress and psychological well-being were measured using the self-report scales “DASS-21” and “WHO-5”. Almost half of the sample (49.2%), 59.6% and 40.0% in Lithuanian and the UK, respectively, exhibited career change ideation, the country effect was significant (AOR = 2.21, p < 0.001). Stronger ideation to leave healthcare was predicted by higher levels of depression (AOR = 1.10, p = 0.005), stress (AOR = 1.10, p = 0.007), anxiety surrounding inadequate personal protective equipment (AOR = 2.27, p = 0.009), and lower psychological well-being scores (AOR = 1.10, p = 0.007). We conclude that psychosocial support must be provided for healthcare professionals to prevent burnout and loss of staff amid the pandemic.


1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Boudreaux ◽  
Cris Mandry ◽  
Phillip J. Brantley

AbstractIntroduction:Although several studies link job-related stressors with adverse reactions among emergency medical technicians (EMTs), more standardized research is needed, since much remains unknown about stress responses, coping styles and their consequences for EMTs. This paper presents the results of two studies. Study I investigated the relation between job-related stressors, job satisfaction, and psychological distress, while Study II investigated how coping is related to occupational burnout, job-related stress, and physiological arousal.Hypothesis:Study I: Those EMTs experiencing greater job-related stressors are less satisfied with their jobs and more psychologically distressed.Objective, Study II:To obtain preliminary information about which coping strategies are associated with greater feelings of stress and burnout and more intense autonomic nervous system reactivity.Methods:For both studies, EMTs from a large, urban, public EMS organization in the southern United States were asked to participate. Study I: Subjects completed an informed consent document, a demographics questionnaire, a measure of job stress (the Stress Diagnosis Inventory), a measure of job satisfaction (Job-in-General), and a measure of psychological symptomatology (Symptom Checklist-90, Revised). Pearson product-moment correlations were computed between the measures. Study II: Subjects completed an informed consent document, a demographics/information sheet, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and the Ways of Coping Scale (WOCS). They then completed 30 days of monitoring using the Daily Stress Inventory (DSI) and the Daily Autonomic Nervous System Response Inventory (DANSRI). Pearson product-moment correlations were computed between the measures.Results:Study I: Those EMTs who experienced greater job-related stress also were significantly more dissatisfied with their jobs, more depressed, anxious, hostile, and endorsed greater global psychological distress. Study IT. The Depersonalization subscale on the MBI correlated significantly with the following WOCS subscales: Accepting Responsibility, Confrontive Coping, Distancing, and Escape/Avoidance. Emotional Exhaustion on the MBI correlated significantly with Confrontive Coping, Escape/Avoidance, and Social Support, while data obtained on the 40 subjects who completed the daily monitoring revealed that DSI-Impact, DANSRI-Number, and DANSRI-Impact scores each correlated significantly with Accepting Responsibility, Confrontive Coping, and Escape/Avoidance.Conclusion:A significant portion of an EMT's job satisfaction and psychological well-being is associated with the degree to which they are experiencing job-related stress, and, furthermore, this distress level appears to be clinically elevated. This implies that in-service programs and psychological support services designed to help EMTs manage their job-related stress may improve job satisfaction and decrease psychological distress. The coping styles most consistently associated with maladaptive outcomes were: Accepting Responsibility, Confrontive Coping, and Escape/Avoidance. Thus, subjects who were more likely to handle stress with self-blame, aggression, hostility, and risk taking or with wishful thinking, escape tendencies, and avoidance were more likely to endorse more negative outcomes.


Author(s):  
Willibald Ruch ◽  
Alexander G. Stahlmann

Abstract Recent theoretical advances have grounded gelotophobia (Greek: gelos = laughter, phobos = fear) in a dynamic framework of causes, moderating factors, and consequences of the fear of being laughed at. This understanding corresponds to that of vulnerability and translates gelotophobia into a distinguishable pattern of lacking resources (i.e., misinterpretation of joy and laughter) that can result in negative consequences (e.g., reduced well-being and performance) if individuals have no access to further resources (e.g., social support) or are exposed to severe stressors (e.g., workplace bullying). Based on the panel data provided by the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES (N = 2469 across six measurement intervals), this study takes the first step toward empirically testing this model’s assumptions: First, we computed exemplary zero-order correlations and showed that gelotophobia was negatively connected with social support (resource) and life and job satisfaction (consequences) and positively connected with perceived stress, work stress, and workplace bullying (stressors). Second, we used longitudinal cluster analyses (KmL; k-means-longitudinal) and showed that the panel data can be clustered into three stable patterns of life and job satisfaction and that gelotophobia is primarily related to the two clusters marked by lower levels of satisfaction. Third, we computed partial correlations and showed that social support, perceived stress, and work stress (but not workplace bullying) can weaken or completely resolve gelotophobia’s relationships with such diverging trajectories of life and job satisfaction. We concluded that seeing gelotophobia through the lens of vulnerability is useful and that such research warrants further attention using more dedicated, theoretically grounded projects.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1432
Author(s):  
Chris Degeling ◽  
Victoria Brookes ◽  
Tarant Hill ◽  
Julie Hall ◽  
Anastacia Rowles ◽  
...  

Educating the public about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered a key part of an optimal public health response. In both media depictions and policy discourses around health risks, how a problem is framed underpins public awareness and understanding, while also guiding opinions on what actions can and should be taken. Using a mixed methods approach we analyse newspaper content in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) from 2011 to 2020 to track how causes, consequences and solutions to AMR are represented in countries with different policy approaches. Analyses demonstrate greater variability in the frames used in UK newspapers reflecting large hospital and community outbreaks and a sustained period of policy reform mid-decade. Newspapers in Australia focus more on AMR causes and consequences, highlighting the importance of scientific discovery, whereas UK coverage has greater discussion of the social and economic drivers of AMR and their associated solutions. Variations in the trends of different frames around AMR in UK newspapers indicate greater levels of public deliberation and debate around immediate and actionable solutions; whereas AMR has not had the same health and political impacts in Australia resulting in a media framing that potentially encourages greater public complacency about the issue.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lea Ellwardt ◽  
Patrick Praeg

Aim. The COVID-19 pandemic and the mitigation measures by governments have upended the economic and social lives of many, leading to widespread psychological distress. However, how distress developed during the pandemic and who was most affected is poorly understood. We explore heterogeneity in trajectories of psychological distress during the first six months of the pandemic in the United Kingdom and relate this heterogeneity to socio-demographic and health factors. Subjects and Methods. We analyze six waves of longitudinal, nationally representative survey data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (N = 15,218), covering the first lockdown in 2020. First, latent class mixture modelling (LCCM) is used to identify trajectories of psychological distress. Second, associations of the trajectories with covariates are tested with multinomial logistic regressions. Results. We find four different trajectories of distress: continuously low, continuously moderate, temporarily elevated, and continuously elevated distress. One-fifth of the population experienced severely elevated risks of distress. Long-term exposure was highest among younger people, women, those who lost income, and those with previous health conditions or COVID-19 symptoms. Conclusion. Given the threat of persistent stress on health, policy measures should be sensitized to the unintended yet far-reaching consequences of non-pharmaceutical interventions.


Author(s):  
Hélène Bricout ◽  
Rigoine de Fougerolles Thierry ◽  
Joan Puig-Barbera ◽  
Georges Kassianos ◽  
Philippe Vanhems ◽  
...  

Background: In response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak that unfolded across Europe in 2020, the World Health Organisation called for repurposing existing influenza surveillance systems to monitor COVID-19. This analysis aimed to compare descriptively the extent to which influenza surveillance systems were adapted and enhanced, and how COVID-19 surveillance could ultimately benefit or disrupt routine influenza surveillance. Methods: We used a previously developed framework in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom to describe COVID-19 surveillance and its impact on influenza surveillance. The framework divides surveillance systems into 7 sub-systems and 20 comparable outcomes of interest, and uses 5 evaluation criteria based on WHO guidance. Information on influenza and COVID-19 surveillance systems were collected from publicly available resources shared by European and national public health agencies. Results: Overall, non-medically attended, virological, primary care and mortality surveillance were adapted in most countries to monitor COVID-19, whilst community, outbreak, and hospital surveillance were reinforced in all countries. Data granularity improved, with more detailed demographic and medical information recorded. A shift to systematic notification for cases and deaths enhanced both geographic and population representativeness whilst the sampling strategy benefited from the roll out of widespread molecular testing. Data communication was greatly enhanced, contributing to improved public awareness. Conclusions: Well-established influenza surveillance systems are a key component of pandemic preparedness and their upgrade allowed European countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, uncertainties remain on how both influenza and COVID-19 surveillance can be jointly and durably implemented.


2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Rodwell ◽  
Julia Ellershaw ◽  
Rebecca Flower

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of three components of the psychological contract (i.e. obligations, fulfillment and breach) and the individual characteristic negative affectivity (NA) onto three key outcomes, namely, job satisfaction, organizational identification and psychological distress. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaires were completed by 222 Australian nurses and midwives from a medium-sized metropolitan Australian hospital. The response rate for the study was 39 percent. Findings – Structural equation modeling revealed that perceptions of psychological contract fulfillment were positively linked to organizational identification and job satisfaction, while psychological contract breach was negatively linked to these outcomes. NA was negatively linked to job satisfaction and positively linked to psychological distress. Psychological contract obligations were not associated with any of the employee outcomes. Research limitations/implications – Psychological contract fulfillment is an important driver of employee satisfaction and organizational identification and the findings highlight the importance of including NA in psychological contract research. The occupation and context, being in-demand employees, appeared to neutralize the impact of one dimension of the psychological contract, employer promises and obligations. Practical implications – Explicitly managing employees’ psychological contracts by focussing on fulfilling realistic promises will enable managers to improve employee outcomes and facilitate employees embracing their organization. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to explore all three components of the psychological contract. These results may assist in the development of strategies to retain in-demand employees such as nurses, particularly highlighting the need to make and fulfill realistic promises.


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