Civility in The Workplace

Civility and incivility are words being discussed more often today. How do they affect you as the new nurse? How do they affect the workplace? How can healthcare organizations create a culture of civility where incivility will not be tolerated? To answer these questions we must first define the word civility. The dictionary defines the word as a "polite act or expression" The synonyms used to describe civility are couteous, pleasant, respectful, decent, and humble.Civility is often thought of as good manners. Civility is based on recognizing that all human beings are important. It is not the same as discrimination.

Incivility on the other hand can be defined as any type of behavior or speech that disrupts the harmony of the work or educational environment. It is not a new problem. The culture of "nursing eating their young" has been around for many years. Two influences have been instrumental in heightening incivility in the workplace. One has been the increase use of technology. The social medias and email make it easier to target individuals with cyber harassment and social rejection. Our world has also become desensitized. The news media broadcasts continual violence. This desensitizes people to the reality of things like abuse, murder and crime to where it is thought of as OK or the norm.

Civility is one of our foundations in nursing. It is essential to our ethical and moral obligations of caring. Being civil to one another creates a culture of caring. It also brings about teamwork and collaboration to enhance effective communication. When communication breaks down poor care ensues. Civility is necessary to the function of the organization.

How do we promote civility in the workplace? Changing a culture from incivility to civility requires choice, decisive action, and resolve. Nurse leaders on all levels from the bedside to the CNO must have honest converstaions about the purpose of the work they want to accomplish. Nurses may need to revise their