Gender minority as a risk factor of exposure to bullying at work: The case of male assistant nurses

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that male assistant nurses, representing a small gender minority in their profession and in the work organizations they inhabit, are more often exposed to bullying at work than their female colleagues. In 1999, a random sample of the assistant nurses organized in the Norwegian Union of Health and Social Workers were mailed a questionnaire; 7478 out of 12,000 (62.3%) completed the questionnaire. The sample of the present study comprised the 6485 respondents who were vocationally active and not on leave. 3.8% (n = 247) of the respondents were men; 10.2% (n = 25) of the men and 4.3% (n = 265) of the women reported that they had been exposed to bullying at work during the previous 6 months, χ2 = 19.12, df = 1, p < .0001. The association between gender and exposure to bullying at work remained strong and significant (odds ratio = 2.29; 95% confidence interval = 1.39 - 3.78; p = .001) even after adjustment for a series of background factors. The study supports the hypothesis that male assistant nurses are more often exposed to bullying at work than their female colleagues.