Recent research suggests that bullying and unhealthy workplace environments are significantly adding to the stress many healthcare workers in South Africa already face. This is unfortunately not a new problem, but there is at least hope in some quarters that it is now slowly being addressed.
Around 58% of staff at a local university's health science faculty, including those jointly working in public hospitals, report having been bullied more than once. 64% of respondents observed it happening to others. The research, recently published in the South African Medical Journal (SAMJ) by a team from the University of the Witwatersrand, defines bullying as unwanted actions that cause offence and distress to others.
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