Effect of Coping Strategies Education on Knowledge and Behaviors of Women Experienced Workplace Bullying

Abstract

Context: Workplace bullying is defined as the perceived situation in which an employee is systematically and repeatedly the target of work-related or personal harmful acts. Workplace bullying is an occupational stressor shown to have particular detrimental health outcomes for those targeted.
Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the effect of coping strategies education on knowledge and behaviors of women who experienced workplace bullying.

Methods: A quasi-experimental (pre/posttest) design was used to achieve this study's aim. The study was conducted at Beni-Suef University affiliated to the Ministry of Higher Education. The study was conducted on a convenient sample of 500 women working at Beni- Suef University. They included 360 employee women from different age groups, educational backgrounds, and job positions. The sample also includes 100 nurses and 40 workers. The study used two tools. The researcher designed a structured interview questionnaire to assess the women's socio-demographic profile and their knowledge regarding workplace bullying. The second tool was a coping behavior checklist for workplace bullying designed by the researcher to assess the women's behaviors toward workplace bullying.

Results: shows that 36.0% of the studied women were in the age group ≥30 with a mean age of 34.38±4.33. Half of the studied women suffered from all mentioned health effects, followed by absenteeism 15%, then depression 12%, and 7% suffering decreased self-esteem, the least health problems 6% was for a physical problem (cardiovascular, diabetes mellites, and neuromuscular problems). The study reveals a statistically significant improvement of women's knowledge regarding workplace bullying at post compared to pre educational intervention and at follow up phase compared to the post-intervention phase at p <0.001. The results also show a highly statistically significant improvement in the women's behaviors toward workplace bullying between pre and post-intervention phases and between post and follow-up phases of intervention at p <0.001.

Conclusion: The research hypotheses were supported. The women exposed to the coping strategies education had improved knowledge and behaviors compared to their pre-education level. Effective organizational interventions are recommended to help prevent and address bullying incidents, and robust legislative mechanisms are also recommended to allow for restitution and compensation, particularly for women.