Perceived Abusive Supervision and Its Influence on Counterproductive Work Behavior among Staff Nurses

Background : Abusive supervision is the subordinates’ perceptions of the extent to which their supervisors engage in the sustained display of hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors that have a negative effect on organization causing lower levels of satisfaction, commitment, and counter productive work behavior . Aim : Assessing staff nurses' perception level regarding abusive supervision, assessing level of staff nurses' counterproductive work behavior and finding out the influence of perceived abusive supervision on counter productive work behavior among staff nurses. Research design : A descriptive correlational study design was used. Setting : The study was conducted at Ain-Shams University Hospital. Subjects : (171) staff nurses out of (300) were participated in the study. Tools of data collection : Abusive supervision scale and counter productive work behavior scale. Results : The majority (94%) of the studied staff nurses perceived high level of abusive supervision, only 2% of them perceived low level of abusive supervision from their supervisors. Also, less than two thirds of them (65%) had moderate level of counter productive work behavior, while only (15%) of the study participants had high level. Conclusion : There was strong positive relation between staff nurses' perceived abusive supervision and their counter productive work behavior. Recommendations : Hospitals have to take corrective disciplinary approaches, actions and strategies against supervisory abusive behavior and counter - productive behavior. Health care managers have to provide the employees with favorable healthy professional work environment, which helps to overcome any counterproductive work behaviors. Health care managers should carry out in-service training programs about acceptable behaviors and actions which have to take to deal with negative behaviors. Faculties of nursing should introduce abusive supervision and counterproductive work behavior in the nursing curricula to equip students to handle or deal with them if they will experience in the nursing profession.