Mobbing: violence at work or semantic abuse – the evaluation of the phenomenon by professionally active nurses

Abstract

Aim of the study: To assess the frequency of occurrence of mobbing in the work environment of professionally active nurses. Material and methods: In order to collect data, the diagnostic survey method was deployed. The research instru-ments were a questionnaire designed by the author of this paper and a standardised questionnaire: Negative Acts Questionnaire (NAQ). Data for the study were collected from a sample of 150 professional nurses. Most of the respondents worked as a staff nurse. Results: The assessed work environments were generally favourable in the group of respondents. On the other hand, the approaches to employees were perceived as mostly negative. The majority of the nurses participating in the research reported facing mobbing behaviour in the workplace. The majority of manifestations of mobbing that were experienced by the subjects in the last six months were creating rumours about the subjects, ignoring their views and opinions, and excessive control of their work. Conclusions: It is advisable to introduce wide research on mobbing based on a standardised survey method. It can help in a wider analysis and comparison of the mobbing aspects at workplaces. The results obtained could be used to develop recovery programs in health care. A. Study design/planning • B. Data collection/entry • C. Data analysis/statistics • D. Data interpretation • E. Preparation of manuscript • F. Literature analysis/search • G. Funds collection