Language Barrier at Work

[abbaking]

I am going to try to put this a polite and delicately as possible. I floated to another unit the other night where there was a large number of Fillipino nurses working that shift. All through-out the night, the Asian nurses were speaking in their native tounge and I felt very uncomfortable. At one point, It seemed as though I was being made fun of dude to the other nurses pointing at me and laughing in a condescending manner. Although our hospital policy states english only at work (except on breaks or meal times), this was obviously not being enforced. I spoke with that units charge nurse, but due to the cultural and communication barriers, my issues where not validated. What can i do if This type of situation happens to me again?

:uhoh21:

[blueheaven]

Whether or not that is true, harassment and a hostile work environment IS against the law.

It is an EEO complaint and it HAS to be addressed when you do the paper work. If you have a union, you can also go to them for help. Don't think the non caucasian ethnic groups wouldn't be screaming if we were talkng in english and being rude and nasty. Seriously!!!!!!!!!

The the other thing, people who speak other languages do NOT know who can also speak it but just don't go around at work flaunting it and may look different than their appearance. This happened with me, I am a blonde haired, blue eyed Scotch/Irish american who doen't fit the typical latino appearance. One day a couple of my co-workers were talking about me and I called them down for it....LOL. They should NEVER assume that other staff do not understand them.

We also had a doc who spoke 9 languages fluently and worked for the g'ment as an interpreter in DC before going to med school...no one spoke anything but english around him!

[caliotter3]

We also had a doc who spoke 9 languages fluently and worked for the g'ment as an interpreter in DC before going to med school...no one spoke anything but english around him!

I'll bet!! People have been surprised when they found out how much Spanish I understand also!

[MikeyJ, RN]

That reminds me of a guy I used to work with a few years ago. I was working in retail selling high-end ladies shoes (phew.. that was more stressful than working in a hospital!) and one of my supervisors was a very dark african american. He grew up in the Dominican Republic and thus his primary language is Spanish. You would never ever guess he spoke Spanish though. I live in an area of the country where over half of the population is of Mexican descent and thus Spanish is spoken everywhere. I found it to be hysterical when Spanish-speaking customers would say horrible things about my supervisor in Spanish in front of him not knowing that he could speak Spanish. He wouldn't say anything until the customers were being checked out and then he would say "Thank You for shopping with us today and have a wonderful day day" in Spanish and he would give them a huge smile. The customers face always dropped and they looked dumbfounded and were at a loss for words. I always stood back and watched... quite a show!

[caliotter3]

sistermike

Your supervisor had the right idea. That's the way to do it!

[suzanne4, RN]

It is against federal law to enforce an english only rule.

Sorry, but that is not correct. And this has nothing to do with any laws, but common courtest and nothing more. There have been issues in hospitals where patients complained as the nurses in their rooms were speaking to one another in their home language and the patient thought that they were being made fun of.

And is not specific to any one language or culture, but rules have been put in place to protect the patients first of all, they are the customer first of all if you wish to look at it that way. And there are many hospitals that actually have English only rules in place and can fire over that. And this includes county hospitals as well as private hospitals and does not matter what the language is that is being spoken.

It is also rude to the other staff that do not speak that language to have staff at the desk speaking in their native languages in the first place while at work. To work in the US as an RN, they have had to pass language exams to get a visa, and if they got one because of marriage and are having issues with language skills that is something that they need to work on, not others to accomodate them. Language skills are very important in the hospital environment and it is not a point of picking on someone because of their culture, or anything else; but what is the proper thing to be doing.

And anytime that others are put out of place, then there is something wrong that is happening there and that is what needs to be addressed. If the nurse cannot communicate in English properly and there is an emergency, then patient's lives are at risk and this is the reason for the English only in the hospital settings of most facilities. What someone does on their break is their choosing, but when patients are involved, or they are at the work station, then English is to be used.

Sure, if the patient speaks another language, then that is another story, you try to make the patient comfortable first. But to add a third language into the mix is not the thing to be doing.

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Rather than prohibiting them, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 actually enables workplace English-only rules under certain circumstances, especially where safety is a concern.

On a practical level though, sometimes I have to scratch my head. I'm not Hispanic, did not grow up speaking Spanish at home, and I've had to put a great deal of hard work into acquiring the language skills that now help me (and my coworkers) with families at work. If I don't use it, I lose it. When I have the opportunity to have a one-on-one, discreet conversation with a Spanish-speaking coworker, I take it.

However, I've had non-Spanish-speaking coworkers approach me during a private conversation and let me know that it's rude to be speaking Spanish when people on the unit speak English. If I'm not talking to you, I just have to wonder why you're listening to me, whether I'm speaking English or not.

[leslie :-D]

However, I've had non-Spanish-speaking coworkers approach me during a private conversation and let me know that it's rude to be speaking Spanish when people on the unit speak English. If I'm not talking to you, I just have to wonder why you're listening to me, whether I'm speaking English or not.

i don't think it's a matter of listening to you, but rather, them hearing you.

i suppose when 2 people are conversing in another language, it technically is a private conversation....even if they are 10 ft apart.

if a private conversation is truly private, no one should be able to listen or hear.

but i didn't think we were talking technicalities.

rather, policy, ethics and good manners.

leslie

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Ten feet might be too far apart for any non-group conversation IMO (especially for this half-deaf guy in a critical care environment), so I could see people getting distracted and offended by that no matter the language.

I just don't think that a conversation has to be completely out of the potential hearing range of others in order to be considered ethical, courteous and private. I hear things that don't concern me almost all day every day, in a variety of languages.

[bagladyrn, RN]

Rather than prohibiting them, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 actually enables workplace English-only rules under certain circumstances, especially where safety is a concern.

On a practical level though, sometimes I have to scratch my head. I'm not Hispanic, did not grow up speaking Spanish at home, and I've had to put a great deal of hard work into acquiring the language skills that now help me (and my coworkers) with families at work. If I don't use it, I lose it. When I have the opportunity to have a one-on-one, discreet conversation with a Spanish-speaking coworker, I take it.

However, I've had non-Spanish-speaking coworkers approach me during a private conversation and let me know that it's rude to be speaking Spanish when people on the unit speak English. If I'm not talking to you, I just have to wonder why you're listening to me, whether I'm speaking English or not.

If you are speaking across me in a language I don't know that is just rude. If it happens to be in the break room I won't call you on it, but it will certainly affect my opinion of you. However, if you are doing this during report, you are potentially depriving me of information that may be relevant if I have to answer that patient's light or participate in their care. If I don't understand the language, I don't know that this is not what you are saying.

I spent years working in an environment with deaf individuals. It was very clearly understood that all conversation on the unit, even between hearing coworkers would be simultaneously signed, in order to prevent even the appearance of exclusion and discrimination. It's simply good manners to use a language common to all when this is available.

[EricJRN, MSN, RN]

Absolutely, bagladyrn. Not during shift report or in any other situation where group communication is necessary.

[bagladyrn, RN]

Absolutely, bagladyrn. Not during shift report or in any other situation where group communication is necessary.

Thanks!

I do try to use the few words I've managed to learn in other languages when dealing with patients who speak that language. I find that my being willing to sound a little silly makes them more willing to try what English they have.

I ask coworkers to teach me whatever they can of various languages though I don't have a skill for it - my favorite Navajo coworker spent years giggling at my attempts to make my mouth make those sounds! I had someone once tell me that I was the only person they ever met who managed to speak Spanish with a Baltimore accent!

[CHATSDALE]

It is against federal law to enforce an english only rule.

there is no federal law to this effect at this time however there are several lawsuits claiming discrimination one i remember because the employer wanted all employees to speak english due to safety issues

i think that it was a steel products shop

but the op was being treated in a discriminatory manner and no one needs to be treated like that at work or any where else