Social Justice as a Lens for Understanding Workplace Mistreatment

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Social Justice Theory
• Healthcare Ethics

Background:

• Workplace mistreatment negatively impacts nurses' well-being and cognitive abilities.
• This mistreatment can lead to violations of patients' rights to optimal care.
• Existing research often overlooks the social injustice dimensions of workplace mistreatment in nursing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze workplace mistreatment in nursing through the framework of Powers and Faden's social justice theory.
• To explore the multifaceted impact of mistreatment on nurses' well-being across six key dimensions.
• To provide a novel perspective on workplace mistreatment by integrating social justice principles.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis using Powers and Faden's social justice theory.
• Examination of workplace mistreatment within the context of six dimensions of well-being: health, personal security, reasoning, respect, attachment, and self-determination.
• Literature review to support the theoretical application.

Main Results:

• Workplace mistreatment is identified as a significant social injustice that compromises nurses' well-being.
• Mistreatment infringes upon nurses' rights to health, personal security, reasoning, respect, attachment, and self-determination.
• The application of social justice theory highlights the systemic nature of mistreatment and its broad implications.

Conclusions:

• Workplace mistreatment in nursing constitutes a violation of social justice, impacting both nurses and patients.
• Addressing workplace mistreatment requires a focus on social justice principles to ensure nurses' well-being and patient safety.
• Recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are proposed to combat this injustice.