Burnout Mediates the Association between Workplace Bullying and Mental Health Problems of Health Practitioners in Cancer Units
-
Farzana Ashraf
,
Shahnila Tariq
,
Rabia Farooqi
,
Masha Asad Khan
,
Mark D. Griffiths
,
Faramarz Asanjarani
Abstract
Background: Medical health practitioners, particularly those working in cancer units, are vulnerable to poor psychological outcomes. The present study was designed to examine the influence of workplace bullying on the mental health of medical and paramedical staff by testing workplace burnout as a mediating factor.
Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional survey, 220 Muslim medical staff officers from the cancer units of three hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan, were assessed for workplace bullying, mental health, and workplace burnout using the standardized psychometric measures (i.e., Negative Act Questionnaire; Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale; and Maslach Burnout Inventory). Data were collected from 2019-2020.
Results: Workplace bullying and workplace burnout were directly related to mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. Moreover, workplace burnout significantly mediated the paths between workplace bullying and mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms), suggesting that workplace burnout increases vulnerability to other mental health issues.
Conclusion: A need for counseling and suitable management strategies to support medical staff working in cancer units is required.
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4. Ashraf F, Ahmad H, Aftab S. (2020). Inter-active role of personal and work related factors in psychological burnout: A study of Pakistani doctors. J Pak Med As-soc, 70(8):1413-1417.
5. Eurofound. (2012). Fifth European Working Conditions Survey Overview Report. Luxem-bourg City, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
6. Nielsen MB, Einarsen S. (2012). Outcomes of exposure to work bullying: A meta-analytic review. Work & Stress, 26:309-332.
7. Musambira G, Matusitz J. (2015). Commu-nication technology and culture: Analys-ing selected cultural dimensions and human development indicators. Int J Tech Manag Sustai Dev, 14(1): 1-7.
8. Omari M. (2003). Towards dignity and respect: An exploration of antecedents and consequences of bullying behavior in the workplace. Final Report Curtin-IPAA Fellowship Pro-gram. Brisbane, Australia. AV Akade-mikerverlag Gmbh & Company KG.
9. Bashir A, Hanif R. (2018). Job satisfaction and burnout as outcome of workplace bullying in among health care profes-sionals. Rawal Med J, 43(3): 405-407.
10. Zubairi AJ, Ali M., Sheikh S, Ahmad T. (2019). Workplace violence against doc-tors involved in clinical care at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. J Pak Med As-soc, 69(9): 1354-1359.
11. Somani R, Karmaliani R., McFarlane J, Asad N, Hirani S. (2015). Prevalence of bullying/mobbing behaviour among nurses of private and public hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Int J Nurs Educ, 7(2): 235-240.
12. Mazhar SB, Gilani S, Ain QT, Khan S. (2019). High burn out among doctors working in a tertiary care hospital; A wake-up call. J Pak Med Assoc, 69:349–354.
13. Hoel H, Rayner C, Cooper CL. (1999). Workplace bullying. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol. 14 (pp. 195-230). New York, NY, US: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
14. Lovibond SH, Lovibond PF. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd. ed.) Sydney: Psychology Foundation. ISBN 7334-1423-0.
15. Maslach C, Jackson SE, Leiter MP. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: CPP, Inc.
16. Preacher KJ, Hayes AF. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Be-havior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(1):717-731.
17. Rodríguez-Muñoz A, Moreno-Jiménez B, Sanz-Vergel AI. (2015) Reciprocal rela-tions between workplace bullying, anxie-ty, and vigor: A two-wave longitudinal study. Anxiety Stress Coping, 28(5): 514-530.
18. Mezirow J. (2006). An overview of trans-formative learning. In P. Sutherland & J. Crowther (eds.), Lifelong learning: Concepts and contexts (pp. 24-38). New York: Routledge
19. Wolke D, Lereya ST, Fisher HL, LewisG, Zammit S. (2014). Bullying in elementary school and psychotic experiences at 18 years: A longitudinal, population-based cohort study. Psychol Med, 44: 2199-211.
20. Salmivalli C. (2001). Group view on victim-ization: Empirical findings and their implications. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (eds.), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 398-419). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
21. Hoobler JM, Rospenda KM, Grace GL, Rosa JA. (2010). A within-subject longi-tudinal study of the effects of positive job experiences and generalized work-place harassment on well-being. J Occup Health Psychol, 15(4):434-51.
22. De Kock JH., Latham HA, Leslie SJ, et al (2021). A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: Implications for supporting psychological well-being. BMC Public Health, 21: 104.
23. Liang HL (2021) Does workplace bullying produce employee voice and physical health issues? Testing the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Front Psychol, 12: 610944.
24. Devonish D (2013). Workplace bullying, employee performance and behaviors: The mediating role of psychological well-being. Employee Relations, 35(6): 630-647.
25. Naranayan A, Betts LR (2014) Bullying be-haviors and victimization experiences among adolescent students: The role of resilience. J Genet Psychol, 175(1-2):134-146.
26. Maidaniuc-Chirilă T. (2015). The mediation role of resilience on the relationship be-tween workplace bullying and Romani-an employees' strain. REVISTA DE CERCETARE SI INTERVENTIE SO-CIALA, 24(1):5-18.
27. Bernotaite L, Malinauskiene V. (2017). WB and mental health among teachers in re-lation to psychosocial job characteris-tics and burnout. Int J Occup Med Environ Health, 30(4): 629-640.
28. Kivimäki M, Virtanen M, Vartia M, Elovain-io M, Vahtera J, Keltikangas-Järvinen L. (2003). WB and the risk of cardiovascu-lar disease and depression. Occup Environ Med, 60(10): 779-83.
29. Nauman S, Malik SZ, Jalil F (2019) How workplace bullying jeopardizes employ-ees' life satisfaction: The roles of job anxiety and insomnia. Front Psychol, 10:2292.
30. Jacobson KJ, Hood JN, Buren HJV. (2014). Workplace bullying across cultures: A research agenda. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 14(1):47-65.
31. Attell BK, Kummerow-Brown K, Treiber LA. (2017). Workplace bullying, per-ceived job stressors, and psychological distress: Gender and race differences in the stress process. Soc Sci Res, 65: 210–221.
2. Rosander M, Nielsen MB. (2021). Witness-ing bullying at work: Inactivity and the risk of becoming the next target. Psychol-ogy of Violence. DOI:10.1037/vio0000406
3. Einarsen S, Hoel H, Zapf D, Cooper CL. (Eds.) (2003). Bullying and emotional abuse in the workplace: International perspectives in re-search and practice. London: Taylor & Francis.
4. Ashraf F, Ahmad H, Aftab S. (2020). Inter-active role of personal and work related factors in psychological burnout: A study of Pakistani doctors. J Pak Med As-soc, 70(8):1413-1417.
5. Eurofound. (2012). Fifth European Working Conditions Survey Overview Report. Luxem-bourg City, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
6. Nielsen MB, Einarsen S. (2012). Outcomes of exposure to work bullying: A meta-analytic review. Work & Stress, 26:309-332.
7. Musambira G, Matusitz J. (2015). Commu-nication technology and culture: Analys-ing selected cultural dimensions and human development indicators. Int J Tech Manag Sustai Dev, 14(1): 1-7.
8. Omari M. (2003). Towards dignity and respect: An exploration of antecedents and consequences of bullying behavior in the workplace. Final Report Curtin-IPAA Fellowship Pro-gram. Brisbane, Australia. AV Akade-mikerverlag Gmbh & Company KG.
9. Bashir A, Hanif R. (2018). Job satisfaction and burnout as outcome of workplace bullying in among health care profes-sionals. Rawal Med J, 43(3): 405-407.
10. Zubairi AJ, Ali M., Sheikh S, Ahmad T. (2019). Workplace violence against doc-tors involved in clinical care at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. J Pak Med As-soc, 69(9): 1354-1359.
11. Somani R, Karmaliani R., McFarlane J, Asad N, Hirani S. (2015). Prevalence of bullying/mobbing behaviour among nurses of private and public hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Int J Nurs Educ, 7(2): 235-240.
12. Mazhar SB, Gilani S, Ain QT, Khan S. (2019). High burn out among doctors working in a tertiary care hospital; A wake-up call. J Pak Med Assoc, 69:349–354.
13. Hoel H, Rayner C, Cooper CL. (1999). Workplace bullying. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol. 14 (pp. 195-230). New York, NY, US: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
14. Lovibond SH, Lovibond PF. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd. ed.) Sydney: Psychology Foundation. ISBN 7334-1423-0.
15. Maslach C, Jackson SE, Leiter MP. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: CPP, Inc.
16. Preacher KJ, Hayes AF. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Be-havior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36(1):717-731.
17. Rodríguez-Muñoz A, Moreno-Jiménez B, Sanz-Vergel AI. (2015) Reciprocal rela-tions between workplace bullying, anxie-ty, and vigor: A two-wave longitudinal study. Anxiety Stress Coping, 28(5): 514-530.
18. Mezirow J. (2006). An overview of trans-formative learning. In P. Sutherland & J. Crowther (eds.), Lifelong learning: Concepts and contexts (pp. 24-38). New York: Routledge
19. Wolke D, Lereya ST, Fisher HL, LewisG, Zammit S. (2014). Bullying in elementary school and psychotic experiences at 18 years: A longitudinal, population-based cohort study. Psychol Med, 44: 2199-211.
20. Salmivalli C. (2001). Group view on victim-ization: Empirical findings and their implications. In J. Juvonen & S. Graham (eds.), Peer harassment in school: The plight of the vulnerable and victimized (pp. 398-419). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
21. Hoobler JM, Rospenda KM, Grace GL, Rosa JA. (2010). A within-subject longi-tudinal study of the effects of positive job experiences and generalized work-place harassment on well-being. J Occup Health Psychol, 15(4):434-51.
22. De Kock JH., Latham HA, Leslie SJ, et al (2021). A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: Implications for supporting psychological well-being. BMC Public Health, 21: 104.
23. Liang HL (2021) Does workplace bullying produce employee voice and physical health issues? Testing the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Front Psychol, 12: 610944.
24. Devonish D (2013). Workplace bullying, employee performance and behaviors: The mediating role of psychological well-being. Employee Relations, 35(6): 630-647.
25. Naranayan A, Betts LR (2014) Bullying be-haviors and victimization experiences among adolescent students: The role of resilience. J Genet Psychol, 175(1-2):134-146.
26. Maidaniuc-Chirilă T. (2015). The mediation role of resilience on the relationship be-tween workplace bullying and Romani-an employees' strain. REVISTA DE CERCETARE SI INTERVENTIE SO-CIALA, 24(1):5-18.
27. Bernotaite L, Malinauskiene V. (2017). WB and mental health among teachers in re-lation to psychosocial job characteris-tics and burnout. Int J Occup Med Environ Health, 30(4): 629-640.
28. Kivimäki M, Virtanen M, Vartia M, Elovain-io M, Vahtera J, Keltikangas-Järvinen L. (2003). WB and the risk of cardiovascu-lar disease and depression. Occup Environ Med, 60(10): 779-83.
29. Nauman S, Malik SZ, Jalil F (2019) How workplace bullying jeopardizes employ-ees' life satisfaction: The roles of job anxiety and insomnia. Front Psychol, 10:2292.
30. Jacobson KJ, Hood JN, Buren HJV. (2014). Workplace bullying across cultures: A research agenda. International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management, 14(1):47-65.
31. Attell BK, Kummerow-Brown K, Treiber LA. (2017). Workplace bullying, per-ceived job stressors, and psychological distress: Gender and race differences in the stress process. Soc Sci Res, 65: 210–221.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 53 No 1 (2024) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v53i1.14692 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Workplace bullying Burnout Medical health practitioners Depression Stress Anxiety | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Ashraf F, Tariq S, Farooqi R, Asad Khan M, Griffiths M, Asanjarani F. Burnout Mediates the Association between Workplace Bullying and Mental Health Problems of Health Practitioners in Cancer Units. Iran J Public Health. 2024;53(1):157-166.
