Workplace Violence Paper
According to Arbury et al. (2021), the number of violent health care worker injuries has gradually increased over the past decade. In 2018, health and social service professionals were 5 times more likely than other professionals to encounter workplace violence, accounting for 73 percent of occupational injuries necessitating days off work (Arbury et al., 2021).
Nevertheless, workplace bullying is underreported, implying that the true rates are significantly higher. Workplace violence can compromise good patient care and result in psychological misery, job discontent, unavailability, high turnover, and increased expenditures. This paper discusses workplace violence and its impact on the nursing profession.
Workplace violence refers to physically and mentally harmful activities that take place during occupational duty. Direct physical attacks, textual or abusive language, physical harassment, and homicide are all examples of workplace violence.
According to ANA (2021), there are 5 primary categories of workplace violence. Types II and III are the most frequent in the medical field. Workplace violence is classified into five types: Risk to professional standing, for example, public humiliation; Threat to individual standing, for example, name-calling; Insulting a fellow nurse; Isolation, such as through withholding information; Overworking, for instance, assigning work and establishing impossible deadlines; and Destabilization, for example, failing to give credit where credit is due (ANA, 2021). Extremists and value-driven groups justify their brutality with their convictions.
Impacts of Incivility
Workplace incivility is a persistent issue for hospital nurses in the United States. Incivility in the workplace is described as the incidence of low-intensity behavior indicating an ambiguous intent to injure. In a study conducted by Smith et al. (2018) in the United States, one staff nurse sample demonstrated a significant incidence of colleague incivility, which was connected with reduced productivity.
Smith et al. (2018), show that workplace incivility is a solid indicator of nurses’ low work satisfaction among newly graduated nurses. Workplace incivility is connected with lower job satisfaction among nurses because employee well-being, work motivation, and health suffer as a result of workplace incivility, and increases the nurses’ stress, anxiety, sadness, revenge against the company, and increased psychological discomfort.
Again, incivility may jeopardize patient safety, and its negative consequences may result in a hostile and unethical atmosphere. As a result, nurses’ morale suffers, potentially leading to poor patient safety performance and more healthcare mistakes (Alquwez, 2020).
Workplace incivility has a deleterious impact on the long-term development of healthcare industry organizations since it unfavorably impacts employees’ psychological well-being, frequently causing side effects of nervousness, depressed mood, somatic complaints, exhaustion, and diseases among nurses, resulting in poor work performance and financial costs to organizations (Zhang et al., 2018).
Organizational Factors that Lead to Workplace Bullying
There are three perspectives on what causes workplace bullying: group oppression and hierarchy, power play, and misuse of authority inside an organization (LaGuardia & Oelke, 2021). Add on; work pressure, performance demands, role conflicts, and a bad social climate are all organizational elements that can contribute to workplace bullying.
Incivility is linked to poorer work satisfaction, lesser willingness to stay in the company, poor performance, lower productivity, worse job satisfaction, and higher turnover intentions. Moreover, uncivil conduct may extend to a routine that influences the entire organization. In this manner, an uncivil culture might emerge, with far-reaching long-term effects.
ANA Civility Best Practices for Nurses
To teach civility and healthy norms, RNs should display respect and professionalism. According to the ANA, civility best practices include using clear communication orally, nonverbally, and in writing (including social media) and treating people with respect, dignity, collegiality, and compassion (Simpson, 2022). Giving clear and precise information on my side as a nurse will lead to understanding and comprehension of information, and there will be no miscommunication leading to incivility.
Leadership Strategies to Implement to Improve Civility
As a leader, expressing civility entails respecting people around us and being thoughtful, kind, and polite. Paying attention to my subordinates as observant and thoughtful may go a long way in ensuring people feel valued and appreciated is one of the leading methods I can adopt in my workplace to increase civility. The second technique is recognizing my staff and taking the time to do so by applauding a team member. Another approach is to be an inclusive leader.
Discuss each Component of DESC
DESC is a positive method to conflict management and resolution (AHRQ, 2021).
D = provides tangible data by describing a specific scenario or conduct with proof.
E = Expresses how one feels about the issue and what one’s worries are
S = Suggests different solutions and seeks agreement
C = Consequences should be addressed in terms of their influence on defined team goals, and efforts should be made to achieve consensus.
References
AHRQ. (2021). Team Strategies & Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety. Ahrq.Gov. Accessed 29th June 2022 from https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/professionals/education/curriculum-tools/teamstepps/instructor/essentials/pocketguide.pdf
Alquwez, N. (2020). Examining the influence of workplace incivility on nurses’ patient safety competence: incivility and patient safety. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(3), 292–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12553
ANA. (2021). Workplace Violence. In Business Continuity Strategies (pp. 21–32). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119196730.ch2
Arbury, S., Hodgson, M., Zankowski, D., & Lipscomb, J. (2021). Workplace violence training programs for health care workers: an analysis of program elements. Workplace Health & Safety, 65(6), 266–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165079916671534
LaGuardia, M., & Oelke, N. D. (2021). The impacts of organizational culture and neoliberal ideology on the continued existence of incivility and bullying in healthcare institutions: a discussion paper. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 8(3), 361–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2021.06.002
Simpson, K. R. (2022). Incivility, bullying, and workplace violence: new recommendations for nurses and their employers from the American nurses association. MCN. The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 41(1), 68. https://doi.org/10.1097/nmc.0000000000000206
Smith, J. G., Morin, K. H., & Lake, E. T. (2018). Association of the nurse work environment with nurse incivility in hospitals. Journal of Nursing Management, 26(2), 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12537
Zhang, S., Ma, C., Meng, D., Shi, Y., Xie, F., Wang, J., Dong, X., Liu, J., Cang, S., & Sun, T. (2018). Impact of workplace incivility in hospitals on the work ability, career expectations and job performance of Chinese nurses: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ Open, 8(12), e021874. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021874
Workplace Violence Paper Instructions
The Joint Commission has identified five categories of workplace violence. Please identify the five categories and provide an example of each
Discuss how incivility in nursing impacts each of the following: a. nursing satisfaction b. patient safety c. healthcare organizations
List three organizational factors that can lead to workplace bullying.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) has developed Civility Best Practices for Nurses. Identify two of the best practices that you would like to further develop and implement into your nursing practice.
Identify three leadership strategies you can implement in your workplace to improve civility. Identify strategies other than the ANA civility best practices.
DESC is a component of TEAMSTEPPS and is a strategy to address incivility. Identify and discuss each component of DESC.