The Prevalence of Violence against Healthcare Workers in Turkey and Employee Job Satisfaction

Aim: To reveal the different dimensions of workplace violence that healthcare workers are exposed to, and to evaluate the impact of exposure to violence on the job satisfaction of healthcare workers. Methods: The study sample comprises 169 people working in different positions in the hospital (doctor, nurse, secretary, assistant staff, etc.). The Workplace Violence Questionnaire and Job Satisfaction Scale were used to collect the study data. The questionnaire forms were distributed in closed envelopes according to the random sampling method, and were filled out by the volunteer participants themselves. Descriptive statistics and t-test were used to analyze the study data. Results: The results of the study show that more than half of the hospital staff (57.5%) had been exposed to violence in the last year; 54.8% of participants were exposed to verbal violence, 26% were exposed to physical violence, and 5.4% were exposed to sexual harassment. In addition, it was found that the job satisfaction levels of those individuals who were exposed to violence (16.71) were lower than the job satisfaction level of those who were not exposed to violence (18.59) (t = -2.793, p-value = 0.006). Conclusion: The study results show that healthcare workers are at serious risk of violence in the workplace. In addition, it is observed that exposure to violence negatively affects job satisfaction, which is important in regarding workplace attitude.