WORKPLACE HARASSMENT: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF NURSES IN HAZARA

Abstract

The present research was conducted to find out the rate of sexual harassment among nurses, their experiences of harassment, and the difference between the frequency of harassment of nurses working under aged authority and the other working under young bosses at health sector. Both qualitative and quantitative measures are used to fulfill these objectives. One hundred nurses with the age range of 20- 40 who were serving in different private and government hospitals of Abbottabad and Mansehra participated in the study. They were further categorized into two categories, 50 working under aged boss (above age 40) and 50 working under young boss (below age 40). Sexual harassment experience questionnaire (SHEQ) was used to measure the frequency of sexual harassment while open-ended in- depth interviews were conducted to collect the experiences, perception of work environment, techniques, domains and causes of sexual harassment. The data collected through SHEQ was analyzed by using the SPSS, frequency distribution, and measures of central tendency was calculated. While thematic analysis was used to analyze the in-depth interview material. The results show that 70% nurses at health sector face sexual harassment. Moreover, it was shown that nurses working under aged boss experience harassment more frequently as compared to the nurses who are working under young boss. In depth interviews revealed that there are many types of harassment used by seniors to harass nurses at health sector. Moreover, rate of sexual harassment is more in young, unmarried, divorced, and widows as compared to married women. The common causes of harassment that are told by most of the participants are undue favors and promotions given to subordinates, nurses’ intentional involvement in harassment, poverty, etc.