A Study on Workplace Bullying of Non-Medical Staff in Healthcare Industry in Kemaman Terengganu, Malaysia

Abstract

Workplace bullying is a concerning issue in healthcare services, lead to serious consequences for healthcare staff well-being, job and organizational performance. Many previous study has focused on medical staff, but little attention has been given to non-medical employees who also contribute in healthcare delivery. This cross-sectional study examined factors contributing to workplace bullying among healthcare staff. The research investigated how leadership quality, organizational culture, job insecurity, and workload influence workplace bullying, and identified which factor has the strongest impact. Data were collected from 92 non-medical staff at Kemaman Hospital, Terengganu, using convenience sampling from a population of 120 employees. Multiple regression analysis was employed following reliability and validity testing. The findings revealed that leadership quality, workload, and job insecurity significantly influenced workplace bullying, while organizational culture did not demonstrate a significant effect. Among the predictors, job insecurity emerged as the strongest factor, emphasizing how employment uncertainty contributes to bullying vulnerability in the workplace. The model accounted for 61.7% of the variance in workplace bullying, suggesting that organizational and employment-related factors play a substantial role in shaping staff experiences. These results highlight the need for healthcare organizations to implement targeted strategies such as strengthening employment security, managing workloads effectively, and strengthening leadership practices to cultivate respectful and supportive work environments. Future research should extend to larger and more diverse samples across regions and employ triangulation methods to enhance validity and generalizability.