More than 50 per cent of Ontario nurses do not feel respected by hospital management for their contribution to health care delivery, a new study from The University of Western Ontario reveals.
The study, based on a questionnaire completed by 285 randomly selected staff nurses from Ontario teaching hospitals, shows more than half the respondents felt their managers did not show concern or deal with them in a sensitive and truthful manner regarding decisions affecting their job. Nurses were asked to agree or disagree with statements such as “Manager treats me with respect” and “Manger offers explanation of decisions.” Only 38 per cent of those surveyed agreed with the statement, “I receive respects from my superiors.”
“It was shocking to see the data,” says Heather Laschinger, the study’s principal investigator, professor of nursing and Associate Director, Nursing Research in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Western.
Though nurses often state they do not feel respected for their contribution to health care, Laschinger says there was little empirical research on this phenomenon.
The study shows feelings of disrespect were associated with stress caused by lack of recognition, poor interpersonal relationships in the workplace, and heavy workload.