Posted: September 7th, 2024

Addressing Incivility in the Nursing Workplace

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Creating a safe work environment includes keeping workplaces free of “violence, incivility, and bullying,” (Broome & Marshall, 2021, p. 255). These events can be overt, directly targeted at an employee, or covert, which are indirect threats (Broome & Marshall, 2021). In either case, these result in physical and/or psychological damage (Broome & Marshall, 2021). In 2015, the American Nurses’ Association (ANA) published a Position Statement stating a nursing requirement to “create an ethical environment and culture of civility and kindness, treating colleagues, co-workers, employees, students, and others with dignity and respect,” (American Nurses’ Association [ANA], 2015). Furthermore, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) protects employees from unfair treatment related to “race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], n.d.). Unfortunately, the scope of this problem is widespread. Between one quarter to two-thirds of nurses have reported such harmful events (Broome & Marshall, 2021; Clark, 2015).
The issue of workplace incivility hits close to home. I, along with several of my coworkers, recently submitted a complaint regarding a member of administration. Our complaint included gossiping, reprimanding staff in a public manner, failing to respond to safety issues, and veiled threats, such as “If you like working here, you’ll [fill in the blank].” I realized how toxic my workplace environment had become recently after my direct supervisor complained to me about my coworkers. I responded by telling him I was uncomfortable discussing my peers’ performance concerns in such a manner. My manager changed the subject without directly responding to my objection. Often, uncivil comments can be handled in a direct manner at the time they occur (Clark, 2015). However, that interaction demonstrated that my supervisor was not receptive to feedback, so I took my complaint up the chain of command.
These workplace issues were reflected in the “Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory” (Clark, 2015). The scores range between 20-100 and a score under 50 is considered unhealthy (Clark, 2015). My score was 31. I have worked for the same company for almost ten years and have never been in a situation like this before. My coworkers are wonderful. I love everything about my job except for my supervisor. If anyone has any ideas about how to handle this situation, please let me know. I plan on leaving my current employer if these issues are not resolved soon. Thank you!
References
American Nurses’ Association. (2015, July 22). Incivility, bullying, and workplace violence. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/official-position-statements/id/incivility-bullying-and-workplace-violence/
Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Clark, C. M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. American Nurse Today, 10(11), 18–23. https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ant11-CE-Civility-1023.pdf
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Employees & Applicants. Retrieved July 12, 2021, from Employees & Applicants | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Addressing Incivility in the Nursing Workplace

The case study models the prevalence of incivility at a workplace and its effect on otherwise satisfied employees. The employee complains about gossip, failure to respond to safety issues, publicly reprimand of staff, and veiled threats. It would be easy to deal with the issues raised, but for the lack of reception from the leadership. The better way to deal with the issues raised would be to create a zero-tolerance policy for incivility, hold staff-development programs, and to model acceptable behavior.
The staff and supervisors must understand that incivility is not acceptable or tolerable through the establishment of a zero-tolerance policy (Olsen et al., 2020). If the workplace had one, the supervisor would have been punished when the nurse reported the issue. Then, the nurse’s confidence in the leadership would have solidified, unlike the present, where she does not regard her workplace as healthy (Phillips et al., 2018). The policy would also ensure that the supervisors are careful not to cross the lines of respect for employees.
Along with the zero-tolerance policy, staff development programs would help sensitize the nurses and their supervisors on the skills they can take up to eliminate incivility in the workplace (Phillips et al., 2018). Some of the crucial skills are proper communication skills and challenging the perpetrators (Olsen et al., 2020). With proper communication, there is a clear statement of intent, which prevents misunderstandings. Better communication also helps to create positive interactions that enhance collaboration and teamwork (Phillips et al., 2018). Also, if employees learn how to challenge incivility, they feel empowered to deal with cases of disrespect among themselves, without needing the management’s intervention.
The management should also define and model acceptable behavior. Typically, the approach the leadership has towards issues trickles down to the employees. Acceptable behavior includes accepting blame for wrongdoing, intolerance for gossip, acts of kindness, and practicing forgiveness. It should also be easy and safe for staff to discuss issues that come up with their supervisors. With these changes, the nurses will feel valued and the workplace will be safe.

References
Olsen, J. M., Aschenbrenner, A., Merkel, R., Pehler, S. R., Sargent, L., & Sperstad, R. (2020). A mixed-methods systematic review of interventions to address incivility in nursing. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(6), 319-326.
Phillips, J. M., Stalter, A. M., Winegardner, S., Wiggs, C., & Jauch, A. (2018, July). Systems thinking and incivility in nursing practice: An integrative review. In Nursing Forum, 53(3) pp.286-298.

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