Bullying among nurses and its relationship with burnout and organizational climate.

Workplace bullying is one of the most common work-related psychological problems. Bullying costs seem higher for organizations composed of health-care workers who perform direct-contact patients-complex tasks. Only a few studies have been carried out among nurses in Italy and integrated models of bullying antecedents and consequences are particularly missing. The aim of this study was to develop a bullying model focused on the interaction between bullying and burnout in the setting of a climate-health relationship. Research involved 658 nurses who completed a survey on health, burnout, bullying and organizational climate. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis. Results suggest that workplace bullying partially mediates the relationship between organizational climate and burnout and that bullying does not affect health directly, but only indirectly, via the mediation of burnout. Our study demonstrates the key-role of workplace bullying and burnout in the climate-health relationship in order to understand and to improve nurses' health.

Workplace Bullying in a Sample of Italian and Spanish Employees and Its Relationship with Job Satisfaction, and Psychological Well-Being.

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence rate of workplace bullying in a sample of Italian and Spanish employees, and its differential consequences on employees' job satisfaction and psychological well-being. The effects of workplace bullying on job satisfaction and psychological well-being were explored taking into account a contextualized approach. Design/Methodology/approach - Cross-sectional study was adopted, in which a sample of 1,151 employees in Italy and 705 in Spain completed a questionnaire. We hypothesized that the relationship between exposure to bullying behaviors and psychological well-being is mediated by job satisfaction, and that this simple mediation model is moderated by the country (moderated mediation). Findings - Results suggest that no particular differences exist in bullying prevalence among Spanish and Italian employees. However, we found scientific confirmation of our hypothesized moderated mediation model. Research limitations/implications - Despite the limitations of the sample studied, findings capture contextual differences in the bullying phenomenon, which may have several implications for further research in this domain, as well as for designing interventions to deal with workplace bullying. Originality/value - Although this study explores bullying in different cultural contexts without investigating specific cultural values, it establishes the roots to assess workplace bullying from a contextualized perspective.

Does Leaders' Health (and Work-Related Experiences) Affect their Evaluation of Followers' Stress?

BACKGROUND: Stressed workers suffer from severe health problems which appear to have increased. Poor leadership is especially considered a source of stress. Indeed, supervisors might perceive their subordinates to be similar to them as far as stress is concerned and this might more widespread in organizations than previously thought. METHODS: The present research investigates the relationships between leaders' health, in terms of work-related stress, mental health, and workplace bullying and their evaluation of subordinates' stress. Five regression models were formulated to test our hypothesis. This is a cross-sectional study among 261 Italian leaders, using supervisor self-assessment and leaders' assessments of their subordinates. RESULTS: Leaders' health was related to their evaluation of staff stress. Job demand, lack of job control, and lack of support by colleagues and supervisors evaluated in their subordinates were particularly associated with the leaders' own health. CONCLUSION: Implications for developing healthy leaders are finally discussed.