Workplace mobbing, group cohesion and intraindividual variables in nurses from a rural hospital in Northern Greece: A correlation study

BACKGROUND: High levels of mobbing are reported in Greek nurses, but the intraindividual and perceived group emotional correlates are little investigated. OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between workplace mobbing (specifically in the nursing sector of a public rural hospital in Greece) and emotional correlates. METHODS: Questionnaires measuring emotional aspects such as Negative Act Questionnaire – Revised (NAQ-R) for measuring perceived exposure to bullying and victimization at work, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Overall Job Satisfaction Scale (OJS), Job Affect Scale (JAS: positive and negative subscales), Perceived Cohesion Scale (PCS), Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ), and Short General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were administered. For the analysis of the data, descriptive and parametric tests were performed through the Pearson correlations and regression for the relationship between variables. RESULTS: High mobbing levels were reported (M = 45.93) compared to already established cutoff scores. Statistically significant positive correlations were found for NAQ-R and MBI (Exhaustion subscale) (r = .569, p < .001), NAQ-R and JAS-negative affect (r = .610, p < .001), NAQ-R and GHQ-12 (r = .280, p = .002), and NAQ-R andeducational level (r = .196, p = .033). Statistically significant negative correlations were found for NAQ-R and ECQ (r = –.323, p < .001), NAQ-R and JAS-positive affect (r = –.556, p < .001), and NAQ-R and PCS (r = –.586, p < .001). Only burnout,negative affect, and perceived group cohesion predicted mobbing measured by NAQ- R. CONCLUSION: As mobbing and its consequences are related to specific emotional variables, these perceived individual and group indices, could be targeted in future prevention initiatives.