Citation

Croft RK, Cash PA. Contemp. Nurse 2012; 42(2): 226-242.

Affiliation

British Columbia Nurses Union, Kelowna, BC, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.5172/conu.2012.42.2.226

PMID

23181374

Abstract

Bullying and lateral violence is a reality in the workplace for many nurses and has been explored in nursing literature for at least three decades. Using a postcolonial feminist approach this paper examines what contributes to bullying and lateral violence in the nursing workplace by deconstructing the findings from a British Columbia Nurses Union and Union of Psychiatric Nurses study. Theories of oppression and organizational context which have appeared in the literature serve to inform the discussion. A postcolonial lens provides an opportunity to come to grips with the insidiousness of bullying and lateral violence. An adaption of Phillips, Lawrence, and Hardy's (2004) framework is used to unpack discourses, actions, texts, and organizational practices to challenge taken-for-granted hegemonies in the workplace. Taking this different view has enabled new prisms of understanding to emerge from the contributing factors identified in the study. Based on this analysis it is clear that bullying and lateral violence is deeply institutionalized. Nurses, managers, and organizations need to interrupt and interrogate the embeddedness of bullying and lateral violence in order to create a civil workplace.

Language: en