In this modules Discussion, you
Assignment: Workplace Environment
Assignment: Workplace Environment
Clearly, diagnosis is a critical aspect of healthcare. However, the ultimate purpose of a diagnosis is the development and application of a series of treatments or protocols. Isolated recognition of a health issue does little to resolve it.
In this modules Discussion, you
To Prepare:
- Review the Resources and examine the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, found on page 20 of Clark (2015).
- Review the Work Environment
Assessment Template. - Reflect on the output of your Discussion post regarding your evaluation of workplace civility and the feedback received from colleagues.
- Select and review one or more of the following articles found in the Resources:
- Clark, Olender, Cardoni, and Kenski (2011)
- Clark (2018)
- Clark (2015)
- Griffin and Clark (2014)
The Assignment (3-6 pages total):
Part 1: Work Environment
- Review the Work Environment
Assessment Template you completed for this Module’s Discussion. - Describe the results of the Work Environment
Assessment you completed on your workplace. - Identify two things that surprised you about the results and one idea you believed prior to conducting the Assessment that was confirmed.
- Explain what the results of the Assessment suggest about the health and civility of your workplace.
Part 2: Reviewing the Literature (1-2 pages)
- Briefly describe the theory
or concept presented in the article(s) you selected. - Explain how the theory or concept presente
d in the article(s) relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment. - Explain how your organization could apply the theory highlighted in your selected article(s) to improve organizational health and/or create stronger work teams. Be specific and provide examples.
Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams (1–2 pages)
- Recommend at least two strategies, supported in the literature, that can be implemented to address any shortcomings revealed in your Work Environment
Assessment. - Recommend at least two strategies that can be implemented to bolster successful practices revealed in your Work Environment
Assessment.
Expert Answer and Explanation
Workplace Environment Assessment
Civility within the workplace is an important aspect that allows nurses and other staff to function effectively when discharging care to patients. An uncivil workplace is usually characterized by conflicts and low staff motivation (Clark, 2015). During this assignment, I was able to perform the workplace environmental assessment, whereby, the results revealed that we have a moderately healthy workplace, with a score of 78. Some of the areas that were considered to be notable strengths include the attraction and retention of employees within the organization.
Another area of strength noted in the organization was that the workload was manageable and fairly distributed. I can attest that even during the current pandemic, one of the things that has assisted us to keep going is the fair distribution of workload across all departments, where, even the leadership decided to lead from the front by taking a heavier burden of the workload.
Another strength that was noted is employee wellness and self-care, which is a metric I never factored in before. Other notable strengths include acceptance of diverse views within the organization, sufficient opportunities for career growth and advancement, and appreciation of individual achievements that are publicized across the entire organization.
Some of the notable weaknesses that were noted within the organization include teamwork and collaboration which scored fairly low. The communication within the organization can also be termed as being poor. Lack of a mentorship program and a static organizational culture was also identified as a lacking area.
One of the things that surprised me after conducting the workplace assessment was the fact that mentorship programs are an important aspect in measuring workplace civility and one that the organization scored poorly on. Looking at it from a critical perspective, with proper mentorship, it is easy to equip individual staff with the skills that can enhance the aspect of teamwork within the organization (Viatale, 2019). The same is also true for progressive workplace culture.
Another thing that I found surprising is that despite the lacking areas, the organization was still ranked as being moderately civil. However, the assessment, regardless of showing positive results in terms of civility, also pointed out various issues that need to be addressed to further enhance the aspect of civility. One thing that I believed prior to the assessment was that the organization will emerge as being uncivil, given the communication challenges we usually encounter in the practice setting. However, with the inclusion of other measurement metrics, then the concept I had of what is a civil workplace was, shifted to some extent.
From the analysis, the assessment suggests that the organization is moderately civil with still several areas that need to be enhanced to improve its civility. The results show that the current workplace culture needs to be reviewed to create an environment that enhances effective employee collaboration and teamwork. The assessment also shows a communication gap, which is an aspect that has greatly affect the civility within the organization. Focusing on these areas, then it is expected that there will be some improvements not only in the health and civility of the workplace but also in the performance of the organization as a whole.
Reviewing the Literature
The article selected is the article by Clark (2015) titled “conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace.” The article provides various theories that can be used to deal with workplace civility. One of the theories presented in the article is `the theory of cognitive rehearsal. The theory is quite appropriate in responding to different aspects of workplace civility. The theory proposes a three-step process in dealing with workplace civility. The first step is to participate in didactic and interactive learning and instruction (Clark, 2015).
In this step, one learns how to identify or spot and understand the implications of uncivil behavior bot to the patients and other employees and the circumstances why the uncivil behavior occurs (Longo, 2017). Clark mentions the next step in the process as rehearsing specific phrases to use during uncivil encounters in the workplace.
The third and last phase of the process is to put in place practice sessions to reinforce the responses learned and rehearsed in preparation to deal with any uncivil encounters. The three steps are simple enough to understand and implement in a practical setting in an environment where conflicts and uncivil behavior is common, thus making it the reason for me choosing the theory.
The work environment assessment conducted showed that the level of civility in my workplace is moderate. One of the areas that was lacking was communication, which I can attest is indeed an issue within my current workplace. Without proper communication and understanding among care providers, the consequences are bound to be dire, with poor patient outcomes being a likely outcome (Clark et al., 2011). Poor communication is a recipe for uncivil behavior, which also affects job satisfaction and the overall performance of employees. The theory of cognitive rehearsal provides a practical framework to assist in identifying, understanding, and responding to uncivil behavior.
The theory of cognitive rehearsal is associated with better management of conflicts and also provides a platform where staff can engage in a civil manner (Clark, 2015). When conflicts and communications are conducted in a civil manner, then the expected results, according to Clark, is improved nurse satisfaction and patient outcomes. It is important to note that one of the problems that affect the effectiveness of teams and hinders collaboration in a health care setting is poor communication, which leads to conflicts and the occurrence of impolite behaviors (Clark et al., 2011). Therefore, presenting a framework that will streamline interprofessional collaboration is something that ought to be embraced for the sake of improving organizational efficiency in delivering care to patients.
Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams
Strategies to Address any Shortcomings
One of the strategies presented by Clark (2015) is by employing the DESC model of dealing with incivility within the workplace. The DESC model has four steps that are applied when dealing with incivility, for example, incivility to deal with communication as described in my workplace. The four steps include describing the behavior that is deemed to be uncivil, expressing oneself concerning that behavior, specifying the needed change, and finally, outlining the consequences of implementing the change, and if need be, also the consequences of not implementing the change. This strategy is effective in implementing a system of continuous improvement, specifically targeted toward dealing with workplace incivility.
Another strategy that can be used as outlined by Clark, is by having a critical conversation with the uncivil employee. One of the ways to encourage incivility is to keep quiet and entertain it when it occurs (Clark et al., 2011). It is important to point out incivility when they occur to dissuade the behavior from being made part of the organizational culture. While critical conversations may be hard to conduct, they are important if fostering a civil workplace. One of the strategies that can be employed when having a critical conversation is to prepare in advance to deal with it (Clark, 2015).
Strategies to Bolster Successful Practices
Two of the successful practices that emerged during the Workplace Environment Assessment were, embrace for organizational diversity and fair distribution of workload and recognition. These are two aspects that have great implications on the satisfaction levels of employees working within the organization. Starting with diversity, more so, embracing diverse opinions; this is one of the ways of dealing with workplace incivility.
Therefore, to further bolster this practice, it is important to make it part of the organizational culture. One of the ways of doing so is by ensuring that organizational processes like team formation are done by taking cognizance of diversity within the organization (Gomez & Bernet, 2019). Allowing the staff to be placed in an environment where they can interact with diverse views can greatly improve their perception and acceptance of diverse opinions other than their own.
When dealing with the fair distribution of workload and recognition of efforts, it is important to realize the implications on staff motivation. One of the simplest ways of ensuring that the staff is motivated is by creating a system of equality within the workplace, where all employees are equally recognized for their efforts without any prejudice or bias (Ageiz et al., 2021).
Recognizing the efforts of the nursing staff and even an individual who shows commitment to their work and performance can not only inspire them to do more, but also motivate others to do the same. This is one of the practices of transformational leadership (Boamah et al., 2018). To bolster this practice, leaders have to lead by example and make the practice part of the organizational culture.
However, to do so, the leaders have to first identify the skills, strengths, and weaknesses of each staff member and focus on those aspects to help create a system of equity and fairness within the organization. Using the two strategies, then it is expected that the level of civility and performance within the organization will be heightened.
Conclusion
Workplace incivility is a vice that has severe ramifications on the wellbeing of the organization. Nurses need to be civil in their conduct not only for the sake of other colleagues but also for the sake of the patients they serve. This paper has provided a description of the kind of workplace environment I work in based on the Workplace Environment Assessment tool. The paper has also provided a theoretical model and strategies that can be used to improve civility within the workplace. Implementing these approaches is expected to have a positive impact on nurse satisfaction, quality of care, and ultimately, organizational performance.
References
Ageiz, M. H., Ebrahem, S. M., & Abo-shereda, H. M. (2021). Nurse Manager’s Meaningful Recognition Program: Its Relation to Staff Nurses’ Sense of Coherence and Self-Efficacy during COVID-19 Pandemic. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 12(1), 1219-1229. http://dx.doi.org/10.31838/srp.2021.1.170
Boamah, S. A., Laschinger, H. K. S., Wong, C., & Clarke, S. (2018). Effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. Nursing Outlook, 66(2), 180-189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.10.004
Clark, C. M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. American Nurse Today, 10(11), 18-23. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cynthia_Clark3/publication/302941121_Conversations_to_inspire_and_promote_a_more_civil_workplace_Let’s_end_the_silence_that_surrounds_incivility/links/580b928008ae2cb3a5da6c5e/Conversations-to-inspire-and-promote-a-more-civil-workplace-Lets-end-the-silence-that-surrounds-incivility.pdf
Clark, Cynthia, Ph.D., RN, Olender, Lynda, MS, RN, ANP, NEA-BC, Cardoni, Cari, et al. (2011). Fostering Civility in Nursing Education and Practice: Nurse Leader Perspectives. Journal of Nursing Administration, 41, 324-330. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0b013e31822509c4
Gomez, L. E., & Bernet, P. (2019). Diversity improves performance and outcomes. Journal of the National Medical Association, 111(4), 383-392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2019.01.006
Longo, J. (2017). Cognitive rehearsal. American Nurse Today, 12(8), 41-43. https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/cognitive-rehearsal-american-nurses-association-journal.pdf
Vitale, T. R. (2019). The impact of a mentorship program on leadership practices and job satisfaction. The Journal of Excellence in Nursing Leadership, 50(2), 12-14. DOI: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000552745.94695.81
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