ABSTRACT
Introduction: The mobbing syndrome in the working environment describes a systematic and on purpose aggressive behavior of one person or group of persons towards another person.
Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the dimensions of this phenomenon in Greek hospitals and its impact in nurses’ health, in order to effectively inform nurses on the ways of recognizing, protecting and managing this phenomenon.
Materials and Methods: A structured anonymous questionnaire was distributed among nurses of the 7 hospitals belonging to the 6th District of Health in February 2013. Results were analyzed with the statistical package SPSS 20.0.
Results: Nurses (n=521) 17,7% men, 82,3% women, faced mobbing syndrome at their work in 71% of them independently of sex or the level of education. Nurses, participating in research, during the previous year demonstrated stress (54,3%), headaches (52%), weakness (41,5%), sleeping problems (32,6%), refusal to work (28%), lack of concentration (22,8%), arrhythmias (22,6%), food consumption disorders (20,9%), increase of smoking (19,4%), depression (16,3%), blood pressure increase (16%), aggressiveness (11,9%), communication problems(7,7%) and increase of alcohol consumption (3,3%). The majority of the “victims” of the mobbing syndrome (80%) declares that this phenomenon has influenced their personal life. The main source of information for the mobbing syndrome was internet (21,1%). In total 72,6% of the nurses that were interviewed are is not aware of the existence of any structured scientific network targeting to face this syndrome, however 88,1% wishes that such a network could exist.
Results: This study demonstrated the need for nurse information in order to early recognize the mobbing syndrome and the creation of a safe working environment in order for nurses to work at their maximum capacity and knowledge and moreover in order to eliminate at minimum the psychosomatic symptoms that are generated from the moral harassment at the working environment.
Key words: fear in work, moral harassment at work, mobbing syndrome