Workplace incivility and its influence on professional quality of life among nurses from multicultural background: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To investigate the workplace incivility of nurses working in two Saudi hospitals and analyse its influence on the nurses' professional quality of life (ProQOL).

Background: The prevalence and economic impact of workplace incivility cannot be overstated and disregarded. To the current authors' knowledge, no extensive study on this topic has been conducted in Saudi Arabia. The influence of workplace incivility to ProQOL of nurses from different cultural backgrounds has never been thoroughly investigated.

Design: Descriptive, cross-sectional design.

Methods: A sample of 378 nurses working in two government hospitals in Saudi Arabia were surveyed using the Nursing Incivility Scale and the ProQOL Scale version 5 from February to May 2018. A multivariate multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyse the multivariate effect of workplace incivility on the nurses' ProQOL. The study adhered to the STROBE guideline (See Supporting Information File 1).

Results: The nurses perceived a moderate level of workplace incivility from the different sources of uncivil acts measured in this study. Among the five sources of incivility explored in this study, the nurses reported the majority of workplace incivility experienced from patients/visitors (M = 2.44, SD = 0.80), while the lowest was from supervisors (M = 1.90, SD = 0.66). The mean scores of the respondents in the compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress subscales were 36.50 (SD = 6.30), 26.43 (SD = 4.81) and 26.47 (SD = 6.06), respectively. General incivility, supervisor incivility, physician incivility and patient/visitor incivility showed a significant multivariate effect on the three ProQOL subscales.

Conclusions: Nurses' experience of workplace civility and its sources were associated with ProQOL.

Relevance to clinical practice: The findings of this study can be used as guide in establishing human resource policies towards achieving nurses' needs, reducing workplace incivility and improving ProQOL.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia; nurses; professional quality of life; workplace incivility; workplace violence.