Study exposes extent of health workplace bullying

RESEARCH exposing the extent of workplace bullying in New Zealand’s health workforce has been published in the British Medical Journal.

Although the survey relied upon by the study’s authors — who include Christopher Frampton from the University of Otago — was a selfreporting one, its findings that 38% of people suffered at least one act of bullying on a weekly or daily basis and 67.5% of respondents witnessed bullying suggest the problem is widespread and common.

‘‘The results overall suggest exposure to some degree of negative behaviour is ubiquitous in this senior medical workforce, with workrelated bullying especially common,’’ the article said.

The researchers’ findings were of great concern, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Ian Powell said.

‘‘We have been discussing them further with DHB chief executives and senior managers . . . A number of hospitals are making positive moves to address these issues but significant, systemic improvements in hospital and workforce resourcing are needed to bring about longterm change.’’

Medical workplace bullying is a phenomenon which has been reported worldwide, but the New Zealand research is believed to be the first nationwide study of medical specialists.

Doctors quoted in the article called bullying

‘‘an unpleasant rite of passage’’ and ‘‘like being trapped in an abusive relationship’’.

Despite hating the treatment they received, the vast majority of bullying victims — 69.9% — had not complained.

The authors said in some workplaces bullying had become normalised, explaining why noone complained.

‘‘I have come to accept this as the culture of the institution,’’ one doctor said.

‘‘I feel I cannot trust the people who I could report to.’’

Bullying was more prevalent in some medical specialties, with emergency medicine, general practice and radiology being the worst.

When the surveys were conducted many emergency departments were suffering high winter workloads, the article said.

‘‘In light of broader workforce pressures, including poor resourcing, staff shortages and high levels of burnout . . . it is hard not to conceive that negative interpersonal interactions, particularly if they are already normalised in the workplace, may escalate as a way to ‘get things done’ in times of significant stress.’’

The authors concluded that considerable efforts were needed to improve reporting of bullying and for handling complaints.