The Effect of Self-Esteem, Bullying, and Harassment on Nurse Turnover Intention

Currently there is a high rate of registered nurse (RN) turnover due in part to bullying and harassment among peers; which fosters lower quality nursing care, jeopardizes patient safety, and increases healthcare costs. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the relationship between inpatient nurses' individual self-esteem and reported bullying and harassment with their intent to leave their job. Two theories were used to provide structure to this work: cognitive experimental self theory and oppressed group theory. Data were collected using the Negative Acts Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Turnover Intentions Measure. All RNs in a Midwestern state were emailed an invitation link to the instruments housed on SurveyMonkey. Only those respondents who claimed to be inpatient RNs were included in the study (n = 770). The three research questions asked about bullying and harassment among inpatient RNs, about the self-esteem of RNs who experienced bullying and harassment and those who have not, and if those RNs who experienced bullying and harassments intended to leave their jobs. With a 2.1% response rate, results indicated that there was a relationship among RNs and bullying and harassment, the self-esteem of RNs who did not experience bullying and harassment was higher than those who did experience bullying and harassment, and there was a positive relationship between RNs experiencing bullying and harassment and their intent to leave their jobs. This research suggests that if bullying and harassment patterns among RNs are identified sooner, RN turnover can be reduced, patient care quality and safety can be improved, and U.S. healthcare costs can decrease