Assistant Nurse Managers’ Experiences of Bullying by Subordinates in Psychiatric Settings in South Africa

Abstract Workplace bullying is a major concern in the nursing profession, characterised by intentional harm to others, including colleagues, subordinates and superiors within the workplace. Historically, bullying in nursing has been perpetrated by persons in power to lower categories, and nurse managers are often seen as authority figures. However, limited resources result in upward bullying from subordinates to managers in South Africa. To explore the experiences of assistant nurse managers being bullied by subordinates in a psychiatric setting in South Africa. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, contextual design with a phenomenological approach was used. In-depth phenomenological interviews were conducted to collect data. Twelve assistant nurse managers were interviewed, and three main themes and categories emerged from the data: First, Participants experienced bullying as being openly or covertly harassed by subordinates, paralysing them personally and professionally as managers. Second, Participants experienced bullying from associations protecting subordinates’ rights. Third, Supportive teamwork, training and self-management in bullying are crucial to the effective management of this phenomenon. Assistant nurse managers were bullied by subordinates, colleagues, seniors and unions. This population requires support and there should be greater awareness that assistant nurse managers encounter similar workplace challenges as other employment categories. This study could ignite awareness of the term ‘upward bullying’ and highlight assistant nurse managers’ challenges with this phenomenon.