Experiences With and Perceptions of Workplace Bullying Among Athletic Trainers in the Secondary School Setting

Abstract

Context: Workplace bullying (WPB) has recently received much attention in society. Research on WPB in athletic training practice settings is limited.Objective: To determine the prevalence of WPB in the secondary school setting and explore the factors related to it.Design: Mixed-methods study. , aged 36.5 6 11.1 years with 11.9 6 9.5 years of experience took part in phase I. Ten participants (7 women and 3 men), aged 39.3 6 10.1 years with 14.3 6 8.3 years of experience, took part in phase II.Data Collection and Analysis: For the online survey, we used the previously validated and reliable (Cronbach a ¼ .84) Athletic Training Workplace Environment Survey, which included the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. The prevalence of WPB was measured with descriptive statistics, and v 2 analyses were used to compare differences between groups (ie, females and males, perpetrators' titles). The interview data were examined using an inductive content analysis.Results: Of the participants, 44 (7.8%) were empirically identified as targets of bullying, though a higher percentage (12.4%, n ¼ 70) self-identified as bullying targets. Men and women did not differ with respect to having experienced WPB, but more perpetrators were male (71.6%, n ¼ 48) than female (28.4%, n ¼ 19; v 2 1 ¼ 12.55, P ¼ ,.001). We also observed a difference in perpetrators' titles, with the vast majority of bullies being coaches or administrators (v 2 6 ¼ 33.82, P ¼ ,.001). Lack of administrator support and discrimination were antecedents of bullying. Stress, depression, and sleep disturbances were reported consequences. Participants coped with bullying by avoidance and role refocusing.Conclusions: Bullying was experienced by a small percentage of athletic trainers in the secondary school setting, a contrast to the findings in the collegiate practice setting.Key Words: interpersonal conflict, workplace aggression, harassment Key PointsWorkplace bullying of athletic trainers occurred less often in the secondary school than in the collegiate setting. Bullies were typically coaches, administrators, or parents, and women were bullied more frequently than men. Being bullied was associated with stress, depression, sleep disturbances, and self-doubt. Targets dealt with bullying by avoiding the perpetrator and refocusing on their role. Developing workplace-bullying policies and educating employees on proper workplace behavior can help to reduce the level of bullying experienced by employees.

Sleep Problems and Workplace Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Lateral hostilities among emergency and critical care nurses have been associated with SPs in victims (Bambi et al, 2013), and the same phenomenon has been observed in Turkish hospital nurses (Ovayolu et al, 2014). Lateral violence was among the predictors of insomnia in a longitudinal study on Norwegian shift nurses (Vedaa et al, 2016) and in many studies that focused specifically on workplace bullying (Lallukka et al, 2011; Rodriguez-Munoz and Notelaers, 2011; Ziemska et al, 2013; Hansen et al, 2014, 2016; Kostev et al, 2014; Magee et al, 2015; Bonde et al, 2016; Pitney et al, 2016).…”

Bullying and Harassment as Antisocial Behaviors in the Sport Sector: Socio-economic Aspects of their Impact Assessment

“…Specific bullying characteristics are analysed in basketball (Vveinhardt et al), football (Yildiz & Alpkan, 2015), athletics (Myers, 2016), ice hockey (Kurudirek, 2015), and others. There are various possible sources of bullying, for example, sports persons (Kurudirek, 2015), coaches (Pitney et al, 2016), assistants such as a doctor of a team (Marks et al, 2012), spectators or fans of sports events (Courtney, Wann, 2010). Respondents of such surveys confess that they are humiliated, summoned, isolated, they do not receive the necessary attention or support and burn down in their sport.…”

“…We found that the research on bullying and harassment in sport is not that frequent. The located studies only detected ongoing bullying among sports coaches (Pitney et al, 2016) or judges (Hacicaferoglu, 2015), but there were no studies that revealed the effects of this phenomenon on the athlete. However, the idea that the interaction of an athlete and a coach or an athlete and an athlete's manager is particularly important in sport and the negative effects of bullying in the sports sector can have a significant impact on both sports persons and their ability to manage bullying, which has impact on sports organization management.…”

“…Particularly little research has been done on the management of harassment and bullying in sports activities. Individual studies have been conducted identifying the role of a coach, parents involved in sports and athletes themselves as well as of their education (Pitney et al, 2016;Mountjoy et al, 2016). There is no doubt that the management of bullying and harassment is especially relevant with the knowledge that there is a high probability that victims will further suffer from bullying and the role of a victim taken in one's childhood will not disappear in the future.…”

“…However, coaches of teams and sports doctors play a significant role in creating a safe environment for athletes (Lazarevic et al, 2015). Although it is often considered that coaches should avoid bullying, as the athletes earn them money, practice shows that some coaches do not avoid violence (Pitney et al, 2016;Wilson, 2016). All this shows that the causes of bullying are significantly related to both managers' personal characteristics and management competencies.…”