Irish workplace behaviour study

This study replicated the BWBS in Ireland, employing the same questionnaire and sampling methodology, in order to establish the prevalence of negative acts in the workplace in a nationally representative sample of Irish employees. The focus of the study is workplace ill treatment received at least once over the previous two years. Workplace ill treatment takes many forms. Workplace bullying is perhaps the most well researched aspect of workplace ill treatment, and has become the dominant way of conceptualising trouble at work. Workplace bullying is a problem for practitioners, academics, and most significantly, it is a problem for those who experience or witness it. There is incontrovertible evidence that ill treatment, impacts negatively on worker health. Many studies cumulatively attest to the toxic effects of ill treatment in work on both physical and mental health and well being. Despite this, ill treatment remains prevalent in workplaces in many countries and organisational response is typically poor. I n 20011 and 20072, national surveys on workplace bullying were conducted in Ireland. These studies found prevalence rates of 7% and 7.9% respectively, employing a self labelling method, in which respondents were asked, following the presentation of a definition, to state whether or not they have been bullied in the past six months. A number of contextual factors make a new survey timely. The British Workplace Behaviour Survey (BWBS) was administered by face-to-face structured interview to a representative sample of UK employees between 2007 and 2008, gathering data on demographic factors, job and workplace characteristics, respondents’ views about their levels of control over the pace and nature of their work, and about why people think they are ill-treated in their workplaces. The survey employed a behavioural checklist, amended following cognitive testing, and including eight items on ‘unreasonable management’, 11 items measuring ‘incivility and disrespect’ and two items on ‘physical violence’. The cognitive testing element was critical to improving the validity of the instrument, and minimised the possibility of errors in conceptualisation and interpretation of items. Respondents were also asked if they had witnessed or perpetrated any of the 21 items

Failure to report as a breach of moral and professional expectation

Cases of poor care have been documented across the world. Contrary to professional requirements, evidence indicates that these sometimes go unaddressed. For patients the outcomes of this inaction are invariably negative. Previous work has either focused on why poor care occurs and what might be done to prevent it, or on the reasons why those who are witness to it find it difficult to raise their concerns. Here we build on this work but specifically foreground the responsibilities of registrants and students who witness poor care. Acknowledging the challenges associated with raising concerns, we make the case that failure to address poor care is a breach of moral expectation, professional requirement and sometimes, legal frameworks. We argue that reporting will be more likely to take place if those who wish to enter the profession have a realistic view of the challenges they may encounter. When nurses are provided with robust and applied education on ethics, when ‘real-world’ cases and exemplars are used in practice and when steps are taken to develop and encourage individual moral courage, we may begin to see positive change. Ultimately however, significant change is only likely to take place where practice cultures invite and welcome feedback, promote critical reflection, and where strong, clear leadership support is shown by those in positions of influence across organisations