The Determinants of Racial Harassment at the Workplace: Evidence from the British Nursing Profession

This paper examines which individual and work-related characteristics increase the probability of an employee being racially harassed at the workplace using a unique sample of NHS nurses. The reported incidence of racial harassment at the workplace is staggeringly high — 8.9 per cent of all nurses report such episodes involving work colleagues and 22.4 per cent have experienced such abuse from patients (or their families). Nurses who are young, male or from the ethnic minorities are the most likely to be affected. The findings have important implications for equal opportunities policies and the retention of nursing staff in the NHS.