The role of human resource management and governance in addressing bullying, burnout and the depersonalization of junior and senior psychiatric nurses in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

AbstractThis study examined the level of perceived responsibility junior and senior psychiatric nurses have for human resources and governance in Saudi Arabia. Bullying is a significant issue in nursing and an entrenched cultural practice that highlights a failure in governance and human resource responsibilities. A total of 90 responses (43.1%) to a 5‐point Likert Scale survey that sought respondent perceptions on leadership, governance and human resources. This study is reported using EQUATOR network recommendations (SQUIRE 2.0). This survey revealed that junior and senior nursing respondents weakly agree with all statements. Neither nurse rank, educational status nor nationality affected the answers of the respondents; there were age, gender and experience effects. There is a significant correlation between all responses to the statements implying there is a social desirability bias to the responses. If bullying, and its derived consequence of burnout, is to be addressed there needs to be a cultural shift in the attitudes of junior and senior nurses towards more acceptance of their HR and governance responsibilities. Furthermore, there needs to be an increased focus on shared leadership responsibilities, with greater nurse‐manager interaction and cooperation on transformational practices that will bring cultural change to the clinical space.