How to Identify and Respond to Bullying and Incivility
Workplace bullying is often described as aggressive behaviors that may include: alienating, intimating, public humiliation or sabotaging, and are usually perpetrated by someone in a higher level of authority. This behavior may involve covert or overt acts of verbal and non-verbal aggression. These types of behavior have been reported to result in enough psychological distress to nurses that it has caused them to leave the profession altogether.
Nursing StudentsGeneral StudentsHowTo
According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), bullying is a major barrier to enhancing the nursing profession. The ANA and other nursing organizations have provided several resources to empower nurses in ending workplace bullying and incivility in the workplace.
According to Dr. Renee Thompson - an expert on the subject, uncivil behaviors include:
Condescending body language
Texting or talking during someone else's presentation
Mocking a co-worker
Jamming the copier
Gossiping
Treating someone like a child
Dr. Renee Thompson continues by saying that bullying is defined as repeated patterns of uncivil behavior with the conscious or unconscious attempt to do harm. This harm is typically directed at an individual or a group and is typically coming from the same person, or groups of people. It is important to understand that bullying is targeted, and repetitive.
Dr. Thompson also says that you should ask yourself the following questions to help in identifying bullying behaviors, or whether you've simply experienced some isolated incivility:
Do they behave this way frequently?
Do they only behave this way towards select people (maybe you and not anyone else)?
Is there an underlying intent to do harm (remember, conscious/deliberate or unconscious/unaware)?
5 Easy Ways To Respond To Bullying:
STEP 1: Remain Confident
By remaining confident in your abilities, you can avoid being a target of bullying behaviors. Just remind yourself that you are a nurse and have met the minimum requirements by your school, your state and the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) to practice as a nurse. You've earned your spot alongside the other nurses and should be treated with respect and dignity. With that being said, it is also your responsibility to know your knowledge limits and seek out additional assistance, guidance and training where appropriate. By demonstrating confidence in your ability to learn and practice as a new nurse, you will surely keep bullies from picking on you.
STEP 2: Remain Professional
It's easy for someone who is being bullied to demonstrate unprofessional behaviors such as arguing, yelling, screaming, using aggressive body language, using profane language or creating a disturbance within operational flow. It is crucial to your success that you remain calm, collected and professional in all of your responses to a bullying individual. Avoid any behaviors or actions that can come back to negatively reflect your level of professionalism.
STEP 3: Confront the Bully
Often times bullying behaviors are not recognized as such by the perpetrator. Regardless of whether bullying behaviors are intentional or not, it is important that you share your concerns with the individual who you feel is bullying you. This is best done after a shift and in an informal matter (i.e. pulling the person to the side, away from other colleagues). This will provide an opportunity for you to be open and honest with the individual. Please note that it is important for you to allow for the person to respond and that you fully listen before making any further judgment. In most cases, the person who demonstrated bullying behaviors will apologize and your working relationship will improve afterward. If this does not stop the bullying behaviors then it is time to report it to the nursing management, which is included in the next step.
STEP 4: Report the Bullying Behaviors
No one wants to get to the point of having to bring someone to the manager's office to be counseled, especially when it's you! Unfortunately, sometimes it is absolutely necessary to involve nursing management when bullying occurs. If the bullying behaviors continue after you confronted the individual(s), then it is imperative that you notify your nursing manager/supervisor immediately. Make sure you provide detailed information regarding the behaviors demonstrated, what your actions were to try to establish resolve, and how these behaviors are affecting you at work. Your manager will then follow through with a plan that will best address the situation.
STEP 5: Advocate for Peer Accountability
Creating a culture of peer accountability should come easy since most nurses come into the profession later in life and have gained a plethora of interpersonal skills, management skills, and have been in some form of supervisory position in previous positions. Even those of you who are entering into nursing as your very first job, you too can hold your peers accountable for their behaviors. By holding everyone on the team equally accountable for their behaviors, bullying behaviors decrease and work morale increases. Always practice by the standards of - if you see something, say something.
Of course, there is always the potential for meeting resistance in all of these steps provided. Just remember one thing - your determination to provide a positive impact will eventually overshadow the negativity that others may create. With consistent positive role modeling by following the above steps, you will surely help to create a healthy workplace environment!
