Impact of Workplace Violence on Sustainable Performance of Nurses with the Mediation of Social Well-being in the Pakistani Context

Abstract

The current study investigated the impact of the predictors of workplace violence (harassment, physical violence, stalking, and ostracism) on sustainable work performance with mediating the role of social well-being of Pakistani nurses considering the ‘hierarchy of need’ theory. A survey method was used to conduct the current study. The data was collected from 400 respondents of four nursing teaching colleges, affiliated with hospitals of Lahore, Pakistan. The data was analyzed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Smart Partial Least Square (PLS) software using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. The results revealed a negative influence of workplace violence on the performance of nurses. Moreover, it tends to dissatisfy their safety and social needs, the most important human needs according to Maslow’s theory. Since Maslow’s time, researchers continued to explore how safety and social needs impact the well-being of nurses. Social well-being is related to better physical, mental, and social health and conversely, feeling isolated (unmet safety and social need) bears negative consequences for health and well-being. Eventually, it became the reason for low performance. The findings confirmed that workplace violence is the strong predictor of sustainable performance. Whereas, nurse’s social well-being mediates the relationship between the predictors (workplace violence) and the outcome variable (performance). Therefore, the study concluded that when safety and social needs are fulfilled, nurses perform their duties enthusiastically. This is the first endeavor to use the “hierarchy of need” theory in order to mediate the effect of violence, performance, and social well-being of nurses. Therefore, the current study served as a baseline for further research in this area. The findings helped the higher authorities and hospitals’ management to devise such policies which help nurses towards organizational growth and sustainable work environment.