Workplace bullying and its association with secondary traumatic stress and turnover intention among emergency and critical care nurses

Abstract Objective This study aims to identify the prevalence of bullying in the workplace and to examine its association with turnover (TO) intention and secondary traumatic stress (STS) among Jordanian nurses employed in Emergency Departments (EDs) and critical care units (CCUs). Nurses employed in the EDs and CCUs are exposed to high levels of bullying behaviors that may contribute to STS, leading to high rates of TO. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. A sample of 150 Jordanian nurses working in CCUs and EDs completed the study. Data collection was performed using the Demographical Questionnaire, the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R), ProQOL scale, and TO scale. The IBM SPSS software was used to analyze data. Results About 10.7% and 89.3% were categorized as “occasionally bullied” and “victims of workplace bullying” subsequently. Workplace bullying was positively associated with TO intention ( r = 0.46, P < 0.001) and STS ( r = 0.36, P < 0.001). TO was positively associated with STS ( r = 0.36, P < 0.001). Bullying was a unique significant predictor of TO intention ( t = 4.59, B = 0.34, P < 0.001) and STS ( t = 4.15, B = 0.34, P < 0.001). Conclusions Bullying behavior has negative adversarial effects on TO and the experience of STS. The prevalence of bullying behavior in the EDs and CCUs remains high despite the increasing awareness of its negative impacts. Healthcare organizations should put systems in place to ensure that zero-tolerance policy are monitored in terms of the effectiveness of its implementation.