Workplace Violence, Bullying, Discrimination, Burnout, and Intention to Leave in Nursing

Abstract

Background: While emerging literature has documented worsening staff nurse shortages due to higher prevalence of workplace violence, bullying, discrimination, and burnout among nurses post pandemic, there is limited evidence to identify specific work environment factors that either induce or mitigate nursing turnover intentions in relation to these workforce challenges.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate nurses' experiences with workplace violence, bullying, discrimination, and burnout within work environments and examine their associations to determine their subsequent effects on nurses' intentions to leave.

Methods: In 2024, we conducted a quantitative cross-sectional study using online, anonymous surveys with multiple validated instruments to gauge nurses' work environment perceptions, experiences with workplace violence, bullying, discrimination, burnout, and intent to leave. We used descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze the data collected from 222 nurses from New York State.

Results: Of the 194 eligible nurses who completed our survey, most respondents had high exposure to negative acts or bullying and endorsed an intention to leave their jobs. Burnout, bullying, and discrimination experiences emerged as significant predictors of intention to leave. While workplace violence was reported to adversely affect personal well-being and mental health, it was not significantly associated with burnout or intention to leave. Nurses reported that their work environments need improvement, particularly in terms of staffing and leadership. Appropriate staffing has a significant association with workplace violence and reduces discrimination, bullying, and intention to leave perceptions. Although authentic leadership has substantial associations with workplace violence, bullying, and discrimination, it showed a lack of statistical significance on nurses' intention to leave. Notably, burnout was not significantly associated with the six essential standards for a healthy work environment.

Discussion: The complex interplay among workplace violence, bullying, discrimination, and burnout highlights the importance of various work environment factors, such as appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership, in effectively shaping nurses' intentions to remain in or leave their jobs. Study results provide a foundation for health care organizations to conduct future research that centers on building more supportive and inclusive work environments to holistically sustain an efficient nursing workforce.

Keywords: bullying; burnout; discrimination; nurses; turnover; workplace violence.