A Systematic Review: Antecedents of Workplace Bullying in the Health Sector in Australia and New Zealand

Date
2016
Authors
Ole, Vilomena
Supervisor
Teo, Stephen
Ho, Marcus
Item type
Dissertation
Degree name
Master of Business
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Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Abstract

This study sought to determine the antecedents (or causes) of workplace bullying in the health sectors of Australia and New Zealand that lead to employee job-related and health related outcomes; It also sought to determine the consequences of workplace bullying in the health sectors of Australia and New Zealand on job-related outcomes and/ or employee health and well-being. The dissertation utilised a systematic literature review using ?workplace bullying in the health sectors of Australia and New Zealand? as a search term. Six databases were used in this research: Web of Science, ABI/Inform, Scopus, CINAHL PsycInfo (Ovid) and Medline. From 202,7497 research articles found, 50 research articles were utilised in the analysis. These were analysed and categorised into five themes through content analysis. The five themes were psychological stress, horizontal bullying, intention to turnover, retention and ethnicity themes. Findings from this dissertation showed that negative work environments reflecting bad work systems and horizontal bullying are the main antecedents of bullying. The health consequences of bullying include psychological stress, burnout, strain, emotional abuse and stress which affect job-related outcomes such a high number of clinical errors, a high rate of intention to leave and/ or turnover rate and low productivity within the organisation. This study demonstrated the need for more research on linking the different levels and settings in an organisation with management and bullying. It was also found that more research is needed on government legislations and polices that address workplace bullying with the aim of encouraging organisations to abide by these legislations and laws to minimise workplace bullying. Such research would also provide information and knowledge to policy makers and government agencies Overall, the findings illustrated the importance of creating organisational practices, accompanied with the right programs, strategies and policies at the organisation-level to address and minimise bullying incidents.

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Keywords
Workplace bullying , Antecedents , Health related outcomes , Job-related outcomes , Australia , New Zelaland , Health sectors
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