Managerial and Organizational Discourses of Workplace Bullying
Susan L Johnson1, Doris M Boutain, Jenny H-C Tsai
1Author Affiliations: Assistant Professor (Dr Johnson), University of Washington Tacoma; Associate Professor (Drs Boutain and Tsai), University of Washington, Seattle; and Associate Professor (Dr de Castro), University of Washington Bothell.
Objective:
To explore how workplace bullying is addressed by hospital nursing unit managers and organizational policies.
Background:
Although workplace bullying is costly to organizations, nurses report that managers do not consistently address the issue.
Methods:
This study used discourse analysis to analyze interview data and policy documents.
Results:
There were differences in the manner in which managers and the policy documents labeled bullying-type behaviors and discussed the roles and responsibilities of staff and managers. Policies did not clearly delineate how managers should respond to workplace bullying.
Conclusions:
These differences can allow management variation, not sanctioned by policy. Unclear policy language can also offer insufficient guidance to managers, resulting in differential enforcement of policies.
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