{"id":5099,"date":"2022-05-20T15:16:53","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T15:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/?p=5099"},"modified":"2024-11-05T21:21:17","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T21:21:17","slug":"toxic-workplace-advocate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vivian.com\/community\/wellness\/toxic-workplace-advocate\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Advocate for Yourself in the Face of Workplace Toxicity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Workplace toxicity is a frequent topic discussed among nurses, whether on social media, in blog posts, on podcast episodes, or in day-to-day conversations at work. Bullying, incivility, harassment, and aggressive behavior can be found in many American healthcare workplaces, and nursing can sadly be a profession overrun with toxic behaviors. We found in Vivian’s recent workforce survey<\/a> that 76.4% of healthcare professionals feel morale in their hospital had gotten worse since this time last year.
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Since so many nurses face these types of situations on a daily basis, nurses need to practice advocating for themselves and finding ways to feel empowered when faced with toxic workplaces, and managers. After all, it\u2019s hard to have a satisfying nursing career if you don\u2019t feel safe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Pushing Back Against Bullying<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Self-advocacy means speaking up for yourself and making your needs, opinions, and feelings known. In your work as a nurse, your self-advocacy may look like going toe-to-toe with<\/span> a nurse bully<\/span>, communicating clearly with a toxic manager who seems hell-bent on making everyone\u2019s life a living hell or meeting with your hospital\u2019s administration to discuss the latest evidence on safe staffing and how nurse-patient ratios on your unit are damaging patient outcomes.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re being harassed, intimidated, or poorly treated by one or more colleagues, you\u2019re not alone, and advocating for yourself is paramount. According to<\/span> Our Own Worst Enemies: The Nurse Bullying Epidemic<\/span><\/i>, a 2019 article published on the website of the National Library of Medicine, studies show that high numbers of both nursing students and working nurses experience bullying or other negative behavior, including up to 60% of nurse managers and executives, and 78% of students.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to<\/span> Dr. Renee Thompson<\/span><\/a>, one of the country\u2019s leading authorities on incivility in healthcare and nursing, there are specific actions a nurse can take in order to advocate for themselves in the presence of toxicity and bullying. First, negative behavior has to be documented in a formal way, and if someone can get witness statements in writing, even better. Second, if you can link a bully\u2019s behavior to compromised patient safety, it is more likely to catch leadership\u2019s attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

A strong form of self-advocacy, when confronted with bullying, is having the courage and sense of personal power to call the bully out on their behavior. Bullies thrive on perceived weakness or vulnerability, so showing them the opposite can stop them in their tracks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stating what you see and how it doesn\u2019t fit with the work environment can demonstrate your unwillingness to be a target. For example, you could say, \u201c<\/span>Rolling your eyes when I ask a question and making fun of my shoes and scrubs in front of colleagues and patients isn\u2019t how we do things here, and I have no problem documenting what happened. I want you to know that I won\u2019t accept being on the receiving end of such rude behavior, nor will anyone else<\/span><\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Toxic Manager<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A toxic boss is a human landmine that nurses may need to deal with in order to simply do their jobs.<\/span> Gallup<\/span> reports that, of more than 7,000 workers surveyed, 50% had left a job to get away from a bad manager.<\/span><\/p>\n

If a toxic nurse manager or supervisor is the issue, they may show\u00a0 any number of behaviors, including, but not limited to:<\/span>
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