Corrections_Today_Spring_2025_Vol.87_No.1

ACA NURSING COMMITTEE

Effects of bullying

the recipient/victim. The bullying culprits tend to describe the victim as “incompetent,” “lazy,” and/or “untrustworthy.” The American Nurses Associa tion list the following types of nurse bullies: supernurse, resentful nurse, rumors and gossip nurse, backstab bing nurse, green with envy nurse and the cliquish nurse. Getting issues exposed and opening the lines of communication can help to reduce tensions and break down barriers. Bullies may develop from feel ings of anger, anxiety and feeling vengeful (Nursebuff,2016). The supernurse will want to assure she/ he is viewed as having excellent skills, so will treat others as less skilled and make others question the victim’s skills. A backstabbing nurse will gain the confidence of a target and then use information against the victim. The cliquish nurse will have a group she will share infor mation with and exclude others. Green with envy nurse is resentful towards those who she/he perceives has more than she/he does. Bullying can cause discord and interfere with the functioning of the workplace. Both sides of the situation tend to try and encourage others to support their “side.” When it is blatant rude behaviors, others tend to notice it more quickly than the silent treatment. Spreading of harmful rumors is one of the more

classic forms of bullying (Nursebuff, 2016). Whether the rumors are per ceived as true or not, the spreading of negative rumors among co-work ers is harmful. This type of bullying behavior is called relational. Bullies use rumors to destroy reputations and social relationships. With social media availability, bullies may post harmful or negative comments/ rumors. This can help ignite ru mors and cause more distress to the victim. Some rumors will cause coworkers to ostracize or leave out others. Many times the rumor will start out “small,” but will grow as it is told and becomes more harmful. When a person gossips and spreads rumors in the workplace, they prove themselves to be insecure and untrustworthy (Campbell, 2016). Campbell (2016) noted that many times the gossiper is either jealous or envious of the victim. Protecting nurses is critical The effects of bullying are varied from anxiety to feeling emotion ally unsafe at work. Most victims experience emotional distress. The emotional toll may be exhibited as making the nurse question her skills and/or breaking down her confi dence. Nursing is known to be a stressful occupation and adding the stress of being bullied to it can cause nurses to have burnout quicker (Nursebuff, 2016). The sooner the behavior is ad dressed, the better the chances of resolution. Getting issues exposed and opening the lines of communica tion can help to reduce tensions and break down barriers. Questioning or directly confronting the culprits by

There are different behaviors that can be described as bullying in the workplace. It can be overt, being mean and obvious. It may include being threatened, yelled at and/or undermined in front of others. The extreme to this may be physical. It can also be quietly and care fully planned to make the target feel left out and not a part of the team. The Workplace Bullying Institute noted that out of those people who have reported being bullied, 64% reportedly were given the silent treatment. The bullies act as if the victim is not there or is “invisible” (Dowd, 2020). This may include ig noring the victim’s input at meetings and refusing to answer their ques tions. The silent treatment may be used by the bullies to punish, hurt, humiliate or exert control or power over the victim. The victim may be “gaslighted.” While some don’t label gaslighting as bullying, it is another strategy a co-worker may use to manipulate the victim. It is a subtle psycho logical manipulation that causes the victim to eventually doubt and lose confidence in herself/himself. The effects of bullying can make the recipient feel overwhelmed and depressed. The recipient or victim is usually tearful and anxious. If an error has occurred and the victim is being demeaned and not supported by his/her co-workers, the victim becomes more upset and emotional than he/she normally would be. The bullies tend to be defiant and attempt to justify their behavior. The bullies will outline alleged behaviors, mistakes and errors by

Spring 2025 | Corrections Today

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