Workplace bullying in NHS community trust: staff questionnaire survey
BMJ 1999; 318 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.318.7178.228 (Published 23 January 1999) Cite this as: BMJ 1999;318:228
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I have been counselling a large number of victims over the past year,
including operating a helpline offering counselling and advice. Nearly
all Victims have not received any support from their employers. They have
been told the problem is a personality clash, the bully is not a bully it
is just their way of dealing with things and therefore not to take it
seriously - to try to udnerstand the bully. As a result victims have
found they cannot go back to work because they feel too ill to cope with
the surroundings and of course to have any contact with the bully. Their
doctors have laid them off work for weeks, months, after which the
organisation having shown no support and understanding has then threatened
to terminate the work contract, to dismiss or to force the employee back
to work with conditions attached. For some reason the bully is rarely
dealt with, gets away with the behaviour, and continues to work in the
department with no retribution.
I find that policies, grievance procedures, monitoring etc to deal with
workplace bullying are not a priority in many organisations. I live
outside Cheltenham, I have had a good number of staff employed by the
local NHS get in touch with me regarding their experiences of bullying. I
have sent my leaflets to the various Trusts introducing myself as a
neutral workplace counsellor/consultant re policy, guidance of dealing
with bullies etc, but there has as was expected no response.
Competing interests: No competing interests
In 1997 I decided to investigate the size and consequences of
bullying within healthcare. I carried out a survey and found that more
than 70% of nurses had encountered some form of bullying within thelast 12
months.
I designed a two day workshop called, "I'm talking to you!"This has been
designed to help victims develop coping strategies in surving. But just as
importantly, there is a strong emphasis on self awareness so that bullies
have to consider how some of their behaviours impact on others. I have
also introduced an exercise called the Morale audit. Which invites senior
managers to answer a number of questions about the sense of morale of
their staff. This workshop has taken me all over the UK and to parts of
Northern Ireland.
Keep up the good work and remember by knowing you are not alone in this
predicament can mean the difference between surviving this terrible
phenomenon.
Walter Brennan BA(Hons.) RMN FETC
Competing interests: No competing interests
In a response to the article on workplace bullying, Dr Ishaq Abu-
Arafeh suggests that the BMJ may be able to "black-box" advertisers in its
classified section who have a history of racist behaviour.
Whilst this is admirable, the BMJ already tolerates classified
advertisements that are openly and explicitly racist every week.
A quick glance at the "Noticeboard" (eBMJ) or "Meeting Place" (print)
sections will reveal a number of advertisers who quite clearly
discriminate on the basis of religion or nationality. Some even stipulate
particular regions of different countries from which a respondent should
originate.
Will the BMJ do anything to discourage such discriminatory behaviour
amongst its advertisers?
Competing interests: No competing interests
EDITOR
I was not surprised by the prevalence of NHS workplace bullying
disclosed by Quine's questionnaire.1 I came across all the categories of
bullying mentioned when I was interviewing informants about their
experiences of the NHS reforms.2
Also, I found another aspect of 'manager bullying'. I met several
managers who were shocked to find themselves unthinkingly behaving to
those they managed in exactly the way that they themselves were being
treated.
This, and the other aspects of bullying reported by Quine might be
mitigated if only the government would implement the Nolan recommendation3
that there should be 'an official or board member entrusted with the duty
of investigating staff concerns about propriety raised confidentially.'
Peter Bruggen
Medical Director and Consultant Psychiatrist
(retired)
21 Mackeson Road
London NW3 2LU
1 Quine, Lyn. Workplace bullying in NHS community trust: staff
questionnaire survey. BMJ 1999, 318: 228-232. (23 January.)
2 Bruggen, Peter. Who Cares? True stories of the NHS reforms.
Charlbury: Jon Carpenter, 1997.
3 Nolan, Lord. Standards in Public Life. HMSO, 1995.
Competing interests: No competing interests
It has been disappointing to see the unacceptable high level of
bullying within a health trust. The medical profession prides itself for
being open and able to deal with matters of bullying, harassment and
racism within its environment. The BMJ has helped in the process of
bringing these matters to the open over the past few years by publishing
evidence of such practices in the NHS, the medical schools and the
workplace.
Doctors and health professionals who work in the drug industry and the
scientific research organisations are also exposed to bullying, harassment
and discrimination. Although most large pharmaceutical companies have and
practise fair equal opportunities policies, some multinational companies
are still well behind the rest of the civilised scientific community. This
week (3/2/1999) an Industrial Tribunal in Edinburgh (Scotland) has found a
large multinational Contract Research Organisation (Quintiles Scotland
Ltd) to have discriminated against one of its scientists in contravention
of the Race Relation Act 1976. The Tribunal found that Quintiles "has not
acted in accordance with any reasonable equal opportunities procedure and
even its own equal opportunities and workplace harassment policies". The
seriousness of this decision should serve as a strong reminder for the
whole profession for the need to monitor and influence the practices of
the irresponsible minority in the drug industry. The close relationship
between the medical profession and the drug industry and the large number
of medical practitioners employed by the drug companies and the contract
research organisations should influence the medical profession to look
closely at this often neglected area of research.
Stemming racism, discrimination, harassment and bullying out of
health and health-related professions has always been a noble objective of
the British Medical Association. The BMJ can help to combat racism by
black-boxing the job advertisements of convicted companies or by attaching
a warning to potential applicants to such adverts. Responsible drug
companies may also want to distance themselves from the offenders.
Competing interests: No competing interests
I was not surprised with higher incidence of bullying reported in the
paper. As a medical student , I have been able to observe junior doctors
at work. They come back to the common room to say , I hate working for
Doctor X. In fact,I have witnessed Consultants bullying their Registrars
in training. The registrars end up saying you can't win. It is really a
shame that people who have faced bullying return it back when they become
Senior members of the profession.On a comparitive basis , I have not seen
bullying at all in the community setting.
The difference noted could be due to stress of working in the NHS
hospitals. It could be the reason why junior doctors decline to take a
career in the NHS hospitals. I suppose one needs to identify the bully
and offer help.We need to protect our profession from the effects of
bullying.
Competing interests: No competing interests
bullying of nurses in South Downs and Weald PCT
I disagree with Lyn Quine's ascertion that victims who report
bullying may be more likely to be generally weaker, pessimistic or more
depressed than counterparts.I have chosen to take action against my
workplace intimidators and the general culture of silence surrounding
these types of events.
Through speaking to other nursing colleagues in my Trust,I have found
that victims are often more likely to have a fierce sense of injustice
which eventually prevails them to act against the abusers, exposing the
collusive management hierachy.
Staff who exercise their rights as employers, reporting incidents of
this nature may indeed have suffered from depression prior to the
bullying,and/or afterwards, but they are not pessimistic, as otherwise
they would not expose bullying practice. True pessimists are the staff who
do not report bullying,or support their colleagues as witnesses for fear
of reprisals. Bringing these cases into the open takes courage and
determination.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests