Before pay cuts were announced, nurses at all four hospitals filled out questionnaires over four weeks measuring their levels of insomnia. In week five, nurses at two of the hospitals were informed about the new salary system that would reduce their pay.
Nurses continued using the insomnia questionnaires the following four weeks. Results showed that nurses who experienced the pay cut showed "dramatic increases" in symptoms of insomnia, to an average score of 6 on a 7-point scale, Greenberg said. The average score before the pay cut was half that, he said.
Greenberg conducted supervisor training at one of the two hospitals where the nurses received salary reductions as well as one which did not have pay cuts. The training consisted of two four-hour sessions conducted on consecutive days.
The training involved what is known as "interactional justice" the perceived fairness of the treatment people receive from authority figures such as supervisors, Greenberg said. Greenberg trained the supervisors on such skills as how to treat others with politeness, dignity and respect, how to show emotional support, and how to avoid intimidation, manipulation and degradation. He also explained the importance of providing thorough, accurate and complete explanations of key decisions, and the importance of being accessible to discuss issues with employees.
"Everyone I know in management agrees these types of behaviors are important and necessary," Greenberg said. "But just because people say it is important doesn't mean they are putting it into practice. The message I gave was not unique, but sometimes it takes something like a training session to really help supervisors do what they know is best."
And in fact, this study showed that nurses who worked for supervisors who re
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Contact: Jerald Greenberg
Greenberg.1@osu.edu
614-292-9829
Ohio State University
23-Jan-2006