How workplace bullying changes how women promote their health

Abstract

Purpose

Workplace bullying is a prevalent and costly form of abuse influencing women's health. The purpose of this study is to expand knowledge of how women care for their health after experiencing workplace bullying and to explore variation in that process.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative feminist grounded theory method was used to study a community sample of 40 adult women across three Canadian provinces.

Findings

Experiencing workplace bullying causes a disruption in women's health and this was identified as the central problem for women in this study. Women address health disruption using a three‐stage process the authors named “managing disruption” that involves protecting, mobilizing, and rebuilding. Women's efforts to care for health which they define broadly as including control over their lives are influenced by formal and informal support and by personal factors such as past experiences, perception of employability, values and beliefs, and relationship patterns.

Research limitations/implications

Longitudinal study would be useful to understand long‐term consequences and potentially helpful resolutions of workplace bullying. Whether men's perspectives on their experiences are similar could also be explored.

Practical implications

Increasing awareness of what workplace bullying is and how to manage it would contribute to diminishing its occurrence and its impact.

Social implications

Women need support and resources from workplace and healthcare professionals when they have experienced workplace bullying.

Originality/value

Few studies have explored women's experiences of caring for health during and after bullying. Interestingly, women reported adopting more balanced perspectives on work and life after their bullying experiences.

Citation

MacIntosh, J., O'Donnell, S., Wuest, J. and Merritt‐Gray, M. (2011), "How workplace bullying changes how women promote their health", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 48-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/17538351111118590