WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND ABUSE AGAINST NURSES BY SUPERVISORS IN LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Background: Workplace violence is a serious global concern that negatively affects nurses’ psychological well-being and work–life balance. Violence and abusive behavior by supervisors toward nurses is widely reported in both public and private healthcare settings, particularly in Pakistan. This study aimed to examine the relationships among counterproductive work behavior, organizational injustice, job insecurity, and work–life conflict among nurses. Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional explanatory research design was employed. A non-probability sampling technique was used to recruit nurses from Lahore General Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected through established and validated Likert scale questionnaires measuring counterproductive work behavior, organizational injustice, job insecurity, and work–life conflict. The demographic characteristics of participants were also recorded. Results: The findings indicated that 43 percent of participants were aged between 26 and 45 years. All participants were female permanent government employees, and 99.5 percent held a bachelor’s degree. The majority (44 percent) had 2 to 5 years of service experience. Counterproductive work behavior did not show a significant relationship with job insecurity (p = .439), and organizational injustice did not significantly predict job insecurity (p = .881). However, the direct effect of counterproductive work behavior on work–life conflict was significant and positive (p = .0003). Job insecurity demonstrated a significant negative relationship with work–life conflict. Conclusion: The study concludes that counterproductive work behavior is a significant positive predictor of work–life conflict, indicating that maladaptive workplace behaviors are closely associated with increased imbalance between professional and personal life domains. The findings suggest the need for supervisor training programs focused on behavior modification to promote nurses’ well-being, enhance workplace conduct, improve organizational effectiveness, and strengthen overall quality of life.