Workplace bullying is a serious social issue[1], which has a great impact on the development of nursing and nurses. Workplace bullying has been defined as “a situation where employees are consistently subjected to negative and aggressive words or behavior at work”[2]. Academics have reported on bullying in different research settings around the world and studies has shown that workplace bullying is more common and severe in nursing than in other professions[3, 4]. De Cieri et al. [5]found that 42% of healthcare professionals, including nurses, had experienced bullying at work in the previous 12 months. 68% of nurses had experienced workplace bullying in the previous 12 months, according to a cross-sectional study among clinical nurses in China[6]. For nurses personally, workplace bullying can cause physical complaints such as fatigue and angina[7, 8], increased risk of hypertension and heart disease[9], mental health problems like anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder[10] and increased the risk of suicidal ideation[11]. For organizations, workplace bullying can lead to a large number of problems related to nurses’ work, such as reduced job satisfaction, poor job performance, diminished working relationships, burnout, increased nurse mobility and hindered organizational growth[1, 12, 13]. It is a source of loss of professional confidence for nurses, can have an impact on the quality of nursing care and increases the factors that have a negative impact on patient safety[14]. Therefore, workplace bullying needs more attention and solutions.
Turnover intention refers to “the desire of an individual to leave his or her current job within a certain period of time”[15], which is considered a cost-effective measure and a key predictor of turnover behavior, and is supported by a great deal experience and theory[16–19]. A survey of nurses working in general acute hospitals in Europe and the USA found that intentions to leave ranged from 14–49%[20]. It has been reported that approximately 40% of registered nurses in a Malaysia hospital intend to leave[21]. The departure of nurses means a loss of organizational value, and when the turnover intention becomes a reality, the costs associated with the recruitment, selection and integration of new nurses can be an expensive process for the organization[22]. Bullying is reported to be one of the factors that exacerbates turnover in the nursing workplace[23]. The research of Kim Y, McDowell and LIU W shows that workplace bullying is significantly positively correlated with nurse’ turnover intention, which is an international issue that needs attention. However, although the well-established link between workplace bullying and turnover intention, the mechanisms behind this relationship and its boundary conditions have not been fully explored[24].
Organizational commitment is considered as one of the predictors of turnover intention. Organizational commitment is defined as “a state of mind or a psychological state of the relationship between the employee and the organization”. It is a description of the relationship between an organization and its members. Organizational commitment manifests itself in members accepting the values of the organization, being willing to work for the organization, and deciding to remain in or leave the organization[25]. Negative work outcomes such as nursing errors, poor quality of care and high turnover rates are associated with low levels of nurses’ organizational commitment[26]. Rodwell J[27] and Filipova A. A[28] found that hospital nurses who were bullied reported lower levels of commitment. Previous research has shown that organizational commitment can motivates employees, reduces absenteeism, improves the retention of employees in the organization, and effectively explains the differences in the mobility behaviour of employees. According to the theory of workplace victimization[29], the occurrence of bullying can be blamed or attributed to the victim’s own or the victim’s organization. There are two main reasons for attribution to the organization: (i) the victim believes that the organization is responsible for the existence of the perpetrator; and (ii) the victim believes that the culture of the organizational permits such bullying. It is plausible to assume that workplace bullying has a negative impact on nurses’ organizational commitment, based on the theory of workplace victimization.
Based on literature review,, a theoretical hypothesis model, as shown in Fig. 1, was established, and the following three hypotheses were proposed by the researchers: (1)workplace bullying is negatively related to organizational commitment and positively related to turnover intention; (2) organizational commitment is negatively related to turnover intention; and (3)organizational commitment mediates the relationship between workplace bullying and turnover intention.