Interpersonal conflict and support mobilisation: Nurses' experience of coping in the workplace.

Abstract

Given that nurses experience high levels of work-related stress, and evidence that social support is beneficial to relieving the effects of stress, nurses' mobilization of support is an important issue. Interpersonal conflict is a prevalent workplace experience for workers. However, this stressor has not been fully examined in a nursing context. The current study explored whether interpersonal conflict at work was a stressful workplace stressor for nurses. The study also explored nurses' mobilization of support when they sought to cope with workplace interpersonal conflict. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 nurses working in a large public hospital. Interview data confirmed that nurse participants' perceived interpersonal conflict situations with nurses, between nurses, with doctors, and with patients to be salient and stressful workplace stressors. Moreover, nurse participants mobilized a range of supportive functions from their supervisors, colleagues and non-work sources of support when dealing with interpersonal conflict stressors.