Bullying and nurses' work experience, coping self-efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction, and intent to leave one's job

Bullying in nursing has been identified in the literature as a significant problem in the hospital workplace. Previous researchers indicated that newly licensed registered nurses experienced being bullied more often than nurses with more years of work experience. No direct comparison in the literature has been made between number of years of work experience as a nurse and being bullied. A concern addressed by this research is whether being bullied will affect job satisfaction and intent to leave one's job. Examining bullying in nursing using Bandura's social cognitive learning theory is a new theoretical approach that provides insight into the perpetuation of bullying as a learned, social, and cultural norm in the nursing workplace. In this research study, coping self-efficacy beliefs were examined as an indicator of nurses' ability to cope effectively in relation to being bullied. The relationship between bullying and coping self-efficacy beliefs has not previously been explored in the literature. To help address the gap in the literature, this study examined the relationship between bullying and years of work experience, coping self-efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction, and intent to leave one's job. A sample of 161 registered nurses in direct patient care positions completed a survey measuring bullying, coping self-efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction and intent to leave one's job. The nurses were from three Midwest hospitals; all part of a large health care organization. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the relationship between the stated variables. Statistically significant correlations were found between bullying and coping self-efficacy beliefs, job satisfaction, and intent to leave one's job. There was no correlation between being bullied and years of work experience. Practical implications of this study indicate that nurses with more years of work experience are bullied as well as their new, less experienced colleagues. Organizational strategies to address bullying should be paired with programing designed to increase coping self-efficacy beliefs. Both new and more experienced nurses need to benefit from programing in order to improve job satisfaction and retention in the hospital workplace. Recommendations for future research are offered.