Workplace mobbing...

Nurses General Nursing

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prmenrs, RN

4,565 Posts

Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

So, what do you do if the 2 people mobbing you are the assistant NMs???

135ctv

56 Posts

I'd look for another job. You are in a situation where you can't win.

mario_ragucci

1,041 Posts

Stop all this "put my tail between my legs" stuff. You don't hafta hide. You can run, but you can't hide. This idea of "bullying" has had the greatest impact on me as of late. To think, I am investing my life to help and care for others, and there is a threat to this in the way of a pack, or mob, of nurses who will annoy me to the point I want to leave. Seriously?

It does kind of strike "fear" and "concern" into Mario, because Mario has been the victum of character assination before. At other jobs, I have seen this crap. Where you have adults who are being paid to be "baby sat" themselves.

I won't take it - no way. But then again, honestly, I don't know what I would do, or not do. I do know that entering nursing is part of my core. Attacking my core would stir a fission reaction. Mario is fissionable material. You mess with my protons, and you'll feel radiation. Mess with the protons of other elements like me, and you'll start a "uncontrolled" fission reaction.

It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.

Specializes in Trauma acute surgery, surgical ICU, PACU.

Mario, you realise as a man going in to nursing, you will be a prime target for this type of thing. Sad to say.

How will you handle it? Will you escalate things just to prove that you don't have to be bullied?

I have seen this happen to a male colleague and a female colleague both - it is never pretty, but it is often subtly supported by management. The male co-worker I had - they had collected "incident reports" of every mistake he ever made. Puffers left at the bedside instead of the med room slot, every glass of water he forgot to mark on the I&O record, etc. Little things. But they add up. So when he got fed up enough of the harassment, realised just how serious it was, and tried to fight back - they had ammo against him. This is not a "game" you can win one against several. It is about "the system", the professional conduct atmosphere in the ENTIRE PROFESSION. If you fight, they can and will stain your record forever - no, it isn't the end of the world to have formal complaints against you, no matter what the reason, but it is a big deal.

Ultimately, you WILL leave the situation, if only to find a workplace you enjoy as well as the work itself... It is not a case of tail between legs as much as peace of mind.

Just my opinion.

Pebbles, et al. I agree with you. It's not JUST nursing. It's just part of life. I think I have seen it *more* in nursing, but maybe it's just harder to hide.

I've seen nurses run off perfectly good nurses. I don't really understand why but it seems like they get a taste of 'blood' or something, and it's like a feeding frenzy until the victim does leave.

I've seen it happen, but the only actual example I've been part of was in the music industry. But it's my opinion that, if someone has decided that you must go, and gotten the ear of someone higher up.... You might as well go. I've quit any time I've gotten a performance review that wasn't absolutely radiantly glowing (Never in Nursing). What's the point not to?

Love

Dennie

mario_ragucci

1,041 Posts

This is nuts! Isn't discrimination against the law? It may be your freedom to "hate" another person, but you can't hate on the job. Hate is easy to see, just like love is. African Americans were discriminated against for a long time, just like women were, but it was finally recognized, and then laws made. And I know it still goes on, and its hard to "take a stand." Sexual harassment is punishable. Are we saying that emotional harassment is condoned by nurses?

Okay, I read this thread from the beginning, and read the additional material on bullying, and targeting. And, I will not allow this to happen to me. I know I am a target, because I have been targeted before. However, I didn't dream this behavior was rampant in nursing. With the attention and concentration needed to provide healthcare, wouldn't you stick out like a sore thumb if you started to divert your energy from your job to bothering other nurses? Who are allowing these "klans" to continue to harass? I know certain towns allow KKK to march, but the KKK marchers get heckled like crazy, requiring police protection, because their message is one which makes people very mad. So, are their "skin-head" nurses too? Do management members who condone this violent behavior wear black arm bands? Tattoos? How can these so called bullies care for patients? Don't the patients complain?

I may have many questions, but I am not gonna walk into a environment as a profesional, where this scenario will present itself, and NOT do my homework. In every way, I say, THANK YOU for this warning, and insight.

135ctv

56 Posts

I guess the best advice would be to do your homework up front. Take a good look at a potential employer before you are hired. Do they use a lot of agency staff? This may mean that they have trouble keeping employees. Is the facility clean? Do you hear call lights that go on forever without being answered? When you pass staff in the hallway, do they smile and acknowledge you? Is the staff focused on the patients/residents or do you overhear arguing and complaining? Does the facility seem to have year-round employment ads? Do they seem too eager to hire you, without really even interviewing you? Look on the internet, many states post the names of facilities that have been fined or had other sanctions against them. Ask a lot of questions at the interview. Does the interviewer readily answer them or is he/she annoyed?

There are good facilities out there where this behavior is not tolerated. Given the shortage of healthcare workers, I choose to work in this type of facility, where the staff conducts themselves in a professional manner and I can focus my efforts on patient care.

If you do get into this situation, look at your priorities. Is it really important to you to stay in the situation and fight it? Can you live with the stress while you are fighting it? How supportive is upper management? Are you willing to risk the potential damage to your career to take a stand? Or, would you be better off starting over with another position?

mario_ragucci

1,041 Posts

Thank you for a very excellent response!! There can not be this behavior rampant everywhere. Your response enables me to know there are other people in healthcare who are aware of this. And, although I'd really dislike being amongst mean people, it may just happen that i might hafta be around some.

I know how to fight fire with fire. I know it just proliferates mean behavior, and love begins with me. Even on these threads, if I come across as being a loving person, folks display a propensity to "give you a hard time."

Perhaps a strategy would be to not show any emotion at a new job, keep my eyes turned (no sparkle) off for the first several weeks/months, and identify all potential bullies. After the initial identification process is complete, showing love would be okay because then I could gauge who would revolt to love and authentic good nature. It would take discipline to lack normal emotion, but for the sake of IDing the meanies, I can do it.

I can't believe I am thinking about fighting tactics, but, as I've read, there are fighters out there!

Just like in a physical fight, yewd have to blast anyone who you think might bully you with everything you got. Yewd have to hit them hard, right up front. It's nuts to fight, but, if I am reading correctly, you may hafta defend yourself. It's okay.

indapinda

4 Posts

I am so relieved see someone articulate the phenomena of workplace mobbing. In October I was forced to leave my job because of a hazardous atmosphere, mobbing created. When I was being threatened with violence by a patient nothing was done about it and I was forced to leave for my safety. There was an inservice co-ordinator that would hide the patients labs books and order books and pretend not to know where they were. I had to get the DON involved to make her turn it up. Nursing is demanding enough without having your peers , undermine your efforts. I found out on my last day there that the inservice co-ordinator and one of the charge nurses were old buddies and her efforts to obstruct my work were out of loyalty to her buddy who was not as well liked by the staff as I was. There should be some sort of authority a nurse can go to.

135ctv

56 Posts

When reported, this behavior is often discounted as a personality conflict or coworkers just "not getting along". These types of conflicts occur in every job, but "mobbing" takes this much farther to the point where patient care is jeopardized.

As I said before, I would not want someone who threatens coworkers or sabotages their work caring for me or a member of my family.

I have been in many good facilities over the past year, where this does not occur. These are the facilities I choose to book my agency hours with. I steer clear of facilities where I have witnessed this behavior.

The facilities I choose to work in have no tolerance for mobbing, bullying, sabotage, or agressive behavior on the part of their staff. Any tendencies toward this appear to be nipped in the bud before they can progress to a "mob" situation. If the administration chooses to "look the other way" or deny that a problem exists, this behavior will continue and even escalate.

indapinda

4 Posts

I am now in a place where this behaivor is unacceptable. As far as just a CNA, as Emily Dickenson would say, " I am nobody too".

NurseBrittney

185 Posts

I am facing this.

I actually have a meeting today with my boss to discuss a physical threat that was made to me on Sunday, whereas the charge nurse said "I'm about to kick her ass" when I asked her to work as a team.

I am fearful for my safety at work, and fearful for retaliation for reporting it.

It does not matter how good of care I provide to my patients, I am treated as incompetent and an inconvenience by the other nurses. They have forced out 3 others since I have been on the shift. 2 years of this nonsense. I fear for the safety of the patients because even thought they will help each other, they will not help new employees, pulled nurses, or people they deem "stupid", which is pretty much anyone not in their group.

I am at my wits end, cannot afford to loose my job, and honestly just want to do the right thing.

Help.

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