Workplace incivility: state of the science
1VA Healthcare, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. huttonsa@email.uc.edu
The Journal of Nursing Administration
|January 13, 2006
Summary
Workplace incivility costs billions annually and can lead to fatal outcomes. Mitigating minor incidents can preserve immense financial and human capital in healthcare organizations.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Organizational Behavior
- Occupational Safety
Background:
- Workplace violence incurs substantial financial costs, estimated at $4.2 billion annually.
- Workplace incivility can escalate, tragically resulting in approximately 1,000 deaths per year.
- Addressing minor workplace disruptions offers significant potential for financial and human capital preservation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct an in-depth literature review on workplace incivility.
- To explore theoretical frameworks associated with workplace incivility.
- To highlight the potential benefits of mitigating incivility in healthcare settings.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of existing literature.
- Analysis of theoretical frameworks.
- Qualitative synthesis of research findings.
Main Results:
- Workplace incivility is a precursor to more severe forms of workplace aggression.
- Theoretical models explain the escalation pathways from incivility to violence.
- Early intervention in incivility can prevent negative outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Mitigating workplace incivility is crucial for financial and human capital retention.
- Healthcare organizations can benefit immensely by addressing incivility.
- Further research into intervention strategies for workplace incivility is warranted.
Related Concept Videos
01:08Obedience
According to obedience research, we may harm others under the forceful pressures of an authority figure (Milgram, 1974). How about if the inappropriate orders were delivered with less force? The increasing interdependence between nurses and physicians compelled Hofling and his colleagues to explore nurses’ reactions to a potentially harmful medical request made by the perceived authority figure, the doctor (Hofling, Brotzman, Dalrymple, Graves, & Pierce, 1966). In this situation, obedience...
02:16Stereotype Content Model
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence categorization, a person will feel...
01:04Social Facilitation
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
00:57Deindividuation
Deindividuation is a form of social influence on an individual’s behavior such that the individual engages in unusual or non-normal behavior while in a group setting. Why? Because in these group settings, the individual no longer sees themselves as an individual anymore, disinhibiting their behavior and personal restraint.
00:52Social Proof
Social proof is a form of persuasion based on comparison and conformity. People compare their behavior and actions to what others are doing and will change to conform to do what their peers do.
02:04Bullying
A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is bullying.