The construction and legitimation of workplace bullying in the public sector: insight into power dynamics and organisational failures in health and social care

In this study, employing Foucault's framework of power, we illuminate bullying as a feature of structures of power and knowledge in public sector institutions. Our analysis draws upon the experiences of a large sample (n = 3345) of workers in Australian public sector agencies – the type with which most nurses in the public setting will be familiar. In foregrounding these power dynamics, we provide further insight into how cultures that are antithetical to institutional missions can arise and seek to broaden the debate on the dynamics of care failures within public sector institutions. Understanding the practices of power in public sector institutions, particularly in the context of ongoing reform, has important implications for nursing.

Source: Nursing Inquiry - August 19, 2014 Category: Nursing Authors: Marie Hutchinson, Debra Jackson Tags: Feature Source Type: research