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Employees in aged care are at high risk of workplace aggression. Research rarely examines the individual and contextual antecedents of aggression for specific types of workers within these settings, such as nurses and certified nursing assistants (CNAs). The study aimed to explore characteristics of the job demands-resources model (JD-R), negative affectivity (NA) and demographics related to workplace aggression for aged care workers. The survey study was based on 208 nurses and 83 CNAs working within aged care. Data from each group were analysed separately using ordinal regressions. Both aged care nurses and CNAs reported high rates of bullying, external emotional abuse, threat of assault and physical assault. Elements of the JD-R model and individual characteristics were related to aggression types for both groups. Characteristics of the JD-R model, NA and demographics are important in understanding the antecedents of aggression observed among aged care workers., (© 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Workplace aggression research has typically focused on groups in the health care industry considered to be high risk (e.g., nursing); however, aggression also occurs among other health care professional groups, such as those in allied health. This study aimed to investigate the antecedents and consequences of workplace aggression among allied health professionals. Allied health professionals working for an Australian health care organization were surveyed, with 134 (49%) responding. The largest group of allied health professionals surveyed were social workers (49%). Job demands, job control, and social support were linked to different types of aggression. Different sources of aggression were linked to various employee outcomes. The importance of considering stressors surrounding employee work conditions is highlighted.

Limited research exists on the impact of bullying across psychological and/or organizationally orientated outcomes for nurses working within different nursing contexts. Research that has explored these outcomes has not considered the potential confounding effects of negative affectivity (NA). This study's aim was to examine the extent hospital and aged care nurses are impacted by bullying on these outcomes, while considering NA. A total of 267 hospital nurses/midwives and 168 aged care nurses from an Australian healthcare organization responded to a survey. The results revealed hospital nurses/midwives who experienced bullying reported higher levels of psychological distress, as well as lower commitment and job satisfaction levels. Aged care nurses who experienced bullying reported lower levels of well-being and commitment. NA was a significant covariate for most analyses. Thus, nurses across these contexts are affected by bullying in relation to psychological and organizational-orientated outcomes over and above the effects of NA, particularly for commitment., (© 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.)

Background: The work attitudes and psychological well-being of aged care nurses are important factors impacting on the current and future capacity of the aged care workforce. Expanding our understanding of the ways in which the psychosocial work environment influences these outcomes is important in order to enable organizations to improve the management of human resources in this sector., Methods: Using survey data from a sample of 222 Australian aged care nurses, regression analyses were employed to test the relative impact of a range of psychosocial work environment variables derived from the demand-control-support (DCS) model and organizational justice variables on satisfaction, commitment, well-being, and depression., Results: The expanded model predicted the work attitudes and well-being of aged care nurses, particularly the DCS components. Specifically, demand was related to depression, well-being, and job satisfaction, job control was related to depression, commitment, and job satisfaction, and supervisor support and interpersonal fairness were related to well-being. The contributions of informational and interpersonal justice, along with the main and interaction effects of supervisor support, highlight the centrality of the supervisor in addressing the impact of job demands on aged care nurses., Conclusion: Psychosocial variables have utility beyond predicting stress outcomes to the work attitudes of nurses in an aged care setting and thus present further avenues of research for the retention of nurses and improved patient care.

Purpose: To test a full model of the antecedents to and consequences of various forms of workplace aggression, considering psychosocial factors, for hospital nursing staff., Design: Cross-sectional survey design., Methods: Two hundred and seven nurses and midwives working across wards within a medium to large Australian hospital completed the survey. The survey response rate was 26.9%., Findings: High frequencies of nurses reported exposure to workplace bullying and internal and external emotional abuse violence types. In terms of antecedents, bullying was linked to high negative affectivity (NA), as well as low supervisor support and coworker support. Internal emotional abuse was associated with low levels of these support variables, as well as high outside work support and low job control. External threat of assault was related to high job demands and NA. In terms of consequences, bullying and verbal sexual harassment were linked to increased psychological distress levels. Bullying and internal emotional abuse were related to lowered organizational commitment. Changes in job satisfaction were not found for any of the workplace aggression types. NA was a significant covariate for all analyses examining consequences of aggression., Conclusions: Different combinations of work conditions (job demands-resources) and individual levels of NA predicted certain types of aggression. Further, nurse perceptions of psychological distress and organizational commitment were affected by exposure to several types of aggression, even after controlling for NA as a potential perceptual bias. This study therefore extends previous research on workplace bullying as a stressor to other types of workplace aggression for nurses., Clinical Relevance: The findings highlight factors that are important in considering effective prevention and intervention of workplace aggression among nursing staff, particularly those working in hospital settings., (© 2012 Sigma Theta Tau International.)

Background: Allied health professionals are integral to the effective delivery of hospital-based health care, yet little is known about the working conditions associated with the attitudinal and health outcomes of these employees., Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the demand-control-support model, in combination with organizational justice variables, predicts the employee-level outcomes of allied health professionals., Methodology/approach: Allied health professionals from an Australian health care organization were surveyed, with 113 (52.6%) participating. The survey included measures of job demands, job control, social support, organizational justice, satisfaction, commitment and psychological distress., Findings: Multiple regression analyses reveal that the additive demand-control-support model predicts the outcome variables of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and psychological distress, whereas the organizational justice variables predicted organizational commitment and psychological distress. Further, both work and nonwork sources of support, in addition to specific justice dimensions, were closely associated with employee-level outcomes., Practical Implications: When coupled with previous research involving social support and organizational justice, the findings from this study suggest that initiatives aimed at strengthening supervisor and nonwork support, while enhancing perceptions of organizational fairness, may offer useful avenues for increasing the levels of satisfaction, commitment and well-being experienced by allied health professionals.