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Violence in the Workplace

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Occupational Safety and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 42474

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes

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Department of Psychology, Universidad de Almería, Almería, Andalucía, Spain
Interests: psychology of sustainability; engagement work; occupational health; psychosocial; organizational environments; personality; aggressive behavior; emotional intelligence; burnout; alcohol; tobacco; multilevel analysis; emotions; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. María del Mar Molero Jurado

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Guest Editor

Faculty of Education, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Interests: health; violence; emotional intelligence; substance use; risk behaviors in adolescents; personality; social and communication skills; burnout and engagement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. José Jesús Gázquez Linares

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Guest Editor

1. Department of Psychology, Universidad de Almería, Calle Universidad de Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
2. Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Av. Pedro de Valdivia 425, Providencia, Región Metropolitana, Chile
Interests: psychology of sustainability; engagement work; occupational health; psychosocial; organizational environments; personality; aggressive behavior; emotional intelligence; burnout; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mobbing consists of violent behavior a person or group exerts against another in the workplace. This type of behavior traditionally refers to psychological abuse, intimidation, trauma, etc. Today, several different expressions are used to refer to the same concept, such as bullying, conflict in the workplace or violence in the workplace. As in other contexts, such violent conduct by family, users, superiors, fellow workers, etc. can have severe consequences to both the individual and the institution. Mobbing in the workplace has been identified as a growing problem in public health, a job stress factor in professionals. For example, according to the World Health Organization, there is a global shortage of 4.3 million healthcare workers. The negative consequences of mobbing to workers has been analyzed in a number of studies, revealing high rates of depression, anxiety, obsessive thinking or psychosomatic disorders. In some cases, it has been observed that victims of mobbing can even experience posttraumatic stress, with symptoms comparable to those of victims of war. The presence of violence has been associated with higher substance use, with severe consequences to the victim’s physical and mental health, influencing their professional practice. Neither should this Special Issue omit the presence of bullying by other workers, which is extremely harmful to those involved (as well as other workers who are “spectators”), for the quality atenttion and also for the profession in general. It is important to understand how and why mobbing occurs and analyze the negative effects of intimidation and whether they can be reduced. However, in spite of the attention that research has given this subject, there is a more specific type of mobbing among members of the same work team, which in recent years has been shown to be one of the main concerns of professionals. With this Special Issue, we invite you to submit articles reporting on high-quality original research or reviews which provide new solid discoveries widening the current state of knowledge on violence in the workplace. Preference will be given to articles which analyze prevalence, as well as risk and protection factors, and which further propose action to avoid the presence of violence in the workplace. All manuscripts will be reviewed by experts in the field and must be received no later than end of December 2020.

Dr. María del Carmen Pérez-Fuentes
Dr. María del Mar Molero Jurado
Prof. Dr. José Jesús Gázquez Linares
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

violence
workplace
mobbing
risk and protection factors
anxiety
stress

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 646 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Social Support Matter in the Workplace? Social Support, Job Satisfaction, Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace during COVID-19

by Hjordis Sigursteinsdottir and Fjola Bjork Karlsdottir

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4724; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19084724 - 13 Apr 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4095

Abstract

This study aims to examine social support at work amongst the employees of Icelandic municipalities and its relationship to job satisfaction, bullying and harassment. The study is based on an online survey conducted in 2021. A total of 4973 employees answered the questionnaire in part or in full after three reminders (57% response rate). The majority of the participants in the study were women (82%), but this gender ratio was representative of the population. The results show that social support gave an average score of 4.2 on a scale of 1–5; 87% of the participants were rather often or always satisfied with their job, 8% had experienced bullying at work, 2% had experienced sexual harassment and 3% had experienced gender-based harassment. Social support has a positive, moderately strong correlation with employee job satisfaction and a weak negative correlation with bullying at work. Based on the results, social support is an important factor related to the job satisfaction of employees and is a protective factor against bullying and sexual harassment at work. This finding demonstrates that managers and those responsible for employee well-being in the workplace should focus on social support at work, especially now that the psychosocial work environment is fragile because of COVID-19. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violence in the Workplace)

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17 pages, 400 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Effects of Integrated Workplace Violence Management Intervention on Occupational Coping Self-Efficacy, Goal Commitment, Attitudes, and Confidence in Emergency Department Nurses: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

by Yang-Chin Chang, Mei-Chi Hsu and Wen-Chen Ouyang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(5), 2835; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19052835 - 28 Feb 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5378

Abstract

Patient and visitor violence (PVV), the most prevalent source of workplace violence, is largely ignored, underreported, and a persistent problem in emergency departments. It is associated with physical injuries, psychological distress, and occupational stress in nurses. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Taiwan from January to December 2020. This study aimed to test the efficacy of an integrated Workplace Violence Prevention and Management Training Program on PVV in 75 emergency department (ED) nurses from a hospital. Cluster sampling was used because the policy of subdivision strategy was enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic. ED nurses received either the intervention or 1-hour in-service class. Data were collected from questionnaires. Data were analyzed mainly by the repeated measure analysis of variance and generalized estimating equations. The intervention had positive effects on developing stronger goal commitment, improving occupational coping self-efficacy, increasing confidence in ability to deal with violent situations, and modifying attitudes toward the causes and management of PVV in ED nurses (p < 0.05). The marginal R² of the generalized estimating equation model for goal commitment, occupational coping self-efficacy, confidence, attitudes toward aggression in ED and aggressive behavior variables was high as 0.54 (p < 0.001), 0.45 (p < 0.001), 0.58 (p < 0.001), 0.29 (p < 0.05), and 0.72 (p < 0.001), respectively. These study models could effectively predict changes in the mean values. The benefit was driven by the effect of the intervention in ED nurses. Thus, the intervention, when applied in conjunction with routine in-service class, could exert synergistic improvements on outcomes measured in nurses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violence in the Workplace)

20 pages, 826 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Examining Whistleblowing Intention: The Influence of Rationalization on Wrongdoing and Threat of Retaliation

by Jawad Khan, Imran Saeed, Muhammad Zada, Amna Ali, Nicolás Contreras-Barraza, Guido Salazar-Sepúlveda and Alejandro Vega-Muñoz

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1752; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph19031752 - 03 Feb 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5506

Abstract

Whistleblowers who expose wrongdoing often face several concerns, pressures, and threats of retaliation before reaching a final decision. Specifically, this study examines the effects of perceived seriousness of wrongdoing (PSW) and perceived threat of retaliation (PTR), as well as the impact of rationalization (RNL), comparing perceived seriousness of wrongdoing, perceived threat of retaliation and whistleblowing intention. Furthermore, this study aims to determine the mediating effect of anticipated regret (AR) on the relationship between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing and whistleblowing intention. We validated our model by analyzing data gathered across three stages from employees in the telecom sector in Pakistan. The key findings of our research may be summarized as follows: (i) individuals’ willingness to ‘blow the whistle’ increases as a result of perceived seriousness of wrongdoing; (ii) whistleblowers are more likely to opt to remain silent if they anticipate a greater threat of retaliation, and (iii) our study establishes a positive connection between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing and whistleblowing intention, indicating that perceived seriousness of wrongdoing enhances people’s willingness to blow the whistle, and whistleblowers are more likely to choose to emerge if the behaviour is more serious in nature; (iv) the data we have uncovered indicates a moderating role of rationalization in regulating the connections between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing, perceived threat of retaliation, and whistleblowing intention; and (v) the findings demonstrate that anticipated regret mediates the connection between perceived seriousness of wrongdoing and the intention to report wrongdoing. Additionally, the results are discussed in terms of their significance for corporate ethics researchers and managers, as well as for end-users who are interested in whistleblowing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violence in the Workplace)

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19 pages, 1080 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Doctors and Nurses: A Systematic Review of the Risk and Protective Factors in Workplace Violence and Burnout

by Jose Miguel Giménez Lozano, Juan Pedro Martínez Ramón and Francisco Manuel Morales Rodríguez

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 3280; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph18063280 - 22 Mar 2021

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 8485

Abstract

The present study aims analyze the risk factors that lead to high levels of burnout among nurses and physicians and the protective factors that prevent them. Thus, it is also intended to explore the possible correlation between physical and verbal violence produced at work and the symptoms derived from burnout. Methods: The search was carried out on the Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases between 2000 and 2019 (on which date the bibliographic search ends). Descriptive studies estimating the prevalence of workplace violence and risk and protective factors and burnout were included. An adapted version of the Downs and Black quality checklist was used for article selection. 89.6 percent of the studies analysed were in the health sector. There is a significant correlation between burnout symptoms and physical violence at work. On the one hand, the risk factors that moderate this correlation were of structural/organisational type (social support, quality of the working environment, authoritarian leadership, little autonomy or long working days, etc.) and personal type (age, gender, nationality or academic degree, etc.). On the other hand, protective factors were the quality of the working environment, mutual support networks or coping strategies. The results were analysed in-depth and intervention strategies were proposed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violence in the Workplace)

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28 pages, 410 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Workplace Mobbing in Polish and Lithuanian Organisations with Regard to Corporate Social Responsibility

by Jolita Vveinhardt and Włodzimierz Sroka

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(8), 2944; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17082944 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4158

Abstract

The ‘mobbing’ phenomenon is regarded as the actions or behaviour referring to an employee or directed against an employee, comprising persistent and drawn-out harassment or intimidation of that employee. This phenomenon causes substantial negative workplace consequences, but, above all, one should stress the consequences for the victims, which are devastating. This has been observed in a variety of organisations, regardless of the sector and country. Given these facts, the purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of workplace mobbing in Polish and Lithuanian organisations with regard to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The research sample included a group of 823 entities operating in both countries in both the private and public sectors (410 from Lithuania and 413 from Poland). A closed-type questionnaire was used in the survey. Several research methods including factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, Spearman–Brown, factor loading, and total item correlation were used in our study. The results achieved showed that there were both similarities as well as differences between the analysed organisations. More specifically, our research revealed that: (1) Employee attitude to CSR depends on the company’s sector of activity and the country; (2) In Poland, workplace mobbing is more prevalent in the public sector than in the private, whilst in Lithuania there were no substantial differences; (3) Organisations that implemented the CSR concept showed less imposed mobbing prevalence; and (4) Employees who faced mobbing in the workplace had worse relationships with clients and users of the company’s services/products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violence in the Workplace)

12 pages, 901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Job Demand, Job Control, and Impaired Mental Health in the Experience of Workplace Bullying Behavior: A Two-Wave Study

by Cristian Balducci, Elfi Baillien, Anja Van den Broeck, Stefano Toderi and Franco Fraccaroli

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(4), 1358; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17041358 - 20 Feb 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3565

Abstract

Workplace bullying is an extreme social stressor at work leading to a severe deterioration of health amongst its targets. Research has revealed two important orders of factors that may trigger workplace bullying: Poor working conditions and individual factors such as impaired mental health that determine a personal psychological vulnerability to bullying. However, research has rarely investigated their role simultaneously. In response, we investigated whether the relationship between poor working conditions (i.e., high job demand) at time 1 (T1) and the experience of bullying at time 2 (T2) is strengthened by experiencing symptoms of impaired mental health at T1. We also tested whether job control—which contributes to better working conditions—at T1 moderates the relationship between job demand at T1 and bullying at T2. Participants (N = 235) were workers in the health sector. The time lag between T1 and T2 was one year. Cross-lagged path analysis revealed that the relationship between job demand at T1 and the experience of bullying behavior at T2 was strengthened by T1 impaired mental health. This suggests that considering both working conditions and individual factors together may be important for reaching a better understanding of the development of bullying. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violence in the Workplace)

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Review

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19 pages, 1032 KiB

Open AccessReview

Prevalence of Workplace Physical Violence against Health Care Professionals by Patients and Visitors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by Yi-Lu Li, Rui-Qi Li, Dan Qiu and Shui-Yuan Xiao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(1), 299; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijerph17010299 - 01 Jan 2020

Cited by 86 | Viewed by 9429

Abstract

Workplace physical violence against health care professionals perpetrated by patients and visitors has been a persistent problem worldwide. Prevalence estimates varied vastly across studies and there was a lack of quantitative syntheses of prevalence studies. This review aimed to quantify pooled one-year prevalence estimates at the global and regional levels. A systematic literature search was performed in the databases of PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Embase between 1 January 2000 and 8 October 2018. Studies providing information about one-year prevalence of self-reported workplace physical violence against health care professionals perpetrated by patients or visitors were included. Heterogeneity between studies was evaluated using Cochran’s chi-squared test (Cochran’s Q) and I² values. Subgroup analysis and meta-regression were used to explore heterogeneity. A total of 65 eligible studies reported one-year prevalence estimates for 61,800 health care professionals from 30 countries. The pooled one-year prevalence of workplace physical violence against health care professionals perpetrated by patients or visitors was 19.33% (95% confidence interval (CI): 16.49–22.53%) and the overall heterogeneity was high across studies. We noted geographic and staff categories variations for prevalence estimates through subgroup analysis. The meta-regression showed that sample size, type of health care setting, and quality score were significant moderators for heterogeneity. One in five health care professionals experienced workplace physical violence perpetrated by patients or visitors worldwide annually. Practical intervention was needed to ensure safety of health care professionals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Violence in the Workplace)

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