Keywords

horizontal violence, intention to leave, lateral violence, nursing, oppressed group behavior, workplace bullying

 

Authors

  1. Simons, Shellie PhD, RN

Abstract

This descriptive study examines bullying behavior among nurses and tests the relationship between bullying and a nurse's intention to leave their organization. Data were collected from 511 randomly selected newly licensed registered nurses by using the Revised Negative Acts Questionnaire, an instrument that measures perceived exposure to bullying at work. Results found that 31% of respondents reported being bullied and that bullying is a significant determinant in predicting intent to leave the organization (B = 3.1, P < .0005). Data suggest that effective interventions are needed to stop workplace bullying that contributes to high rates of nurse turnover.