VERBAL ABUSE IN THE WORKPLACE: THE UNFOLDING PHENOMENON

Abstract

Violence in the workplace is a common situation among workers all over the world. This may happen to almost all companies and industries where violence is really a concern. One workplace where violence is rampant includes the hospitals and nursing homes. In the Philippines, nurses are confronted with physical, verbal, and emotional abuses. However, evidence of verbal abuse against nurses in the workplace are little and even fragmented literature reviews particularly on exposure rates, sources, and responses. This study determined the lived experiences of nurses who experienced verbal abuses in their workplace. The study utilized qualitative descriptive phenomenological approach that describe social phenomenon that is concerned with opinions, feelings and experiences of nurses as they occur naturally in the time of verbal abuse. Purposive sampling was used, and it focused on nurses who are employed in the hospitals. The instrument utilized the Bevans interview guide which is an essential concept to understand the present phenomenon.  Descriptive bracketing allowed the researcher to focus on the pure essences of the phenomenon. The Colaizzi’s eight steps were used in analyzing the data. The results of the study revealed the themes as result of their lived experiences. The first theme is destructive experience, the second theme is reactive responses, and the third theme is the evasive strategies. With these findings, the researcher noted the phases of the nurses lived experiences. Despite of difficulties, pain and sadness, the nurses have the capacity to resolve and cope any kinds of violent situations.