Work Environment Assessment

Work Environment Assessment

Work Environment Assessment Template Template  

 

Work Environment Assessment Template

Use this document to complete the Module 4 Workplace Environment Assessment.

Summary of Results – Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory	Upon completing the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, my workplace scored 82 out of 100 implying that the workplace is moderately healthy. In this workplace, there are few cases of uncivil behavior among employees and the management in general. There is quite a cordial relationship between the employees and the employer and the employees are quite fully engaged. This has resulted in improved performance with the majority of the employees performing at or above expectations. The organization treats its employees as the most important asset that it has and as a result, all employees, regardless of their positions are treated with fairness and assigned reasonable and manageable tasks. Any employee grievances are addressed by the management in an amicable manner. The workplace is characterized by open, two-way communication where issues are communicated openly without fear of reprisals. There are avenues for employees to present their opinion on issues affecting them and the organization in general and these are attended to by the management of the organization promptly. In making key decisions that would affect the whole organization employees included, the management takes the views of employees seriously and incorporates them in key strategic decisions. There is a zero-tolerance policy to incivility and a number of employees have had disciplinary actions taken against them for violating the provisions of the policy.
Identify two things that surprised you about the results. Also identify one idea that you believed prior to conducting the Assessment that was confirmed.	When completing the work assessment, I was surprised to discover that my workplace was moderately healthy. Although I had not witnessed many uncivil incidences at the workplace, I did not expect that it would perform as well as it did in the assessment. I thought it would be a mildly healthy workplace. Secondly, I was also surprised to learn that the management of my organization takes seriously the concerns of its employees hence the absence of unionized workers at the organization. I confirmed that the level of civility in the workplace is a result of the zero-tolerance policy on incivility and the open communication channels promoted at the organization.
What do the results of the Assessment suggest about the health and civility of your workplace?	These assessment results of my workplace are indicative of the few cases of uncivil behaviors by people within the organization. The zero-tolerance policy at the organization seems to be working at discouraging employees from engaging in incivility. The policy empowers employees and the management to speak up about any uncivil encounters meted on them by their colleagues or any other person within the organization. As a result, any reported cases are dealt with following the laid down procedures and necessary actions taken to promote civility. It is also evident that the results embody a workplace where there are very few barriers to effective communication. Open communication is very essential in solving problems arising at the workplace particularly in stressful work environments such as in healthcare organizations. According to Stalter et al., (2020), effective communication in healthcare contributes significantly to the healthcare workers’ abilities to provide high-quality, safe patient care.
Briefly describe the theory or concept presented in the article(s) you selected.                                       Explain how the theory or concept presented in the article(s) relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment.	According to Clark (2015), the ability of nurses to provide quality and safe patient care is hinged on their ability to cope with the stressful healthcare environments, manage their emotions, and communicate respectfully. The author stresses the importance of organizations exhibiting open communication to inspire and promote civility in the workplace. Workplace conflicts are inevitable. However, they can only be healthy if they are managed properly, and the best way to achieve this is through open communication. Open communication makes it possible for individuals to understand each other’s ‘trigger points’ and therefore knowing how to better manage, address and react to a situation. Practicing good listening skills allows for two-way communication to occur without interruption thereby creating space for people to express their concerns and opinions.  There is a need for healthcare workers to learn how to address uncivil behaviors they encounter every day. Conversely, the leadership of healthcare organizations should create workplaces where employees feel empowered to openly speak and air their concerns without fear of suffering negative consequences such as dismissals. According to Clark (2015) addressing incivility by speaking up when it happens can be the most effective way to stop it. Failure to report uncivil behaviors can create stress, impair employee job performance and eventually jeopardize patient care. Fostering positive employee interactions through effective communication has a positive influence on performance, employee loyalty to the organization, and the ability to provide quality and safe patient care for improved outcomes.   The concept presented by Clark (2015) is related to the results of my workplace environment assessment in several ways. The concept revolves around open communication to address incivility in the workplace. The results of the assessment indicate that my workplace exhibits open communication and is probably the reason why there are almost no uncivil behaviors reported. With effective communication, workers at the organization strive to establish an ethical environment and a culture of kindness and civility by treating each other respectfully and in a dignified manner. This concept by Clark is alive to the fact that conflicts can usually arise in the workplace and therefore it is a reminder to everyone of the importance of having honest, human conversations that can help promote workplace civility. The assessment has also revealed that employees at my workplace are empowered to speak up whenever they experience incivility because there are no adverse consequences of speaking the truth. The article stresses the importance of reporting uncivil behaviors as an effort to help solve workplace conflicts that are precursors to incivility. Incivility in healthcare results in unsafe working conditions, poor patient care, and increased medical costs (Clark et al., 2011). My workplace has almost no cases of bullying, harassment, intimidation, violence, and threats which the article advocates against. Clark (2015) stresses the importance of addressing workplace incivility as a way of promoting team professionalism and better patient care.
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.	The concept presented by Clark (2015) can be applied by my organization to continue promoting workplace civility. With the rising reports of the increasing prevalence of incivility in healthcare environments, there is a need for healthcare leaders to put in mechanisms to ensure that their workplaces are healthy. My organization can apply the concept by strengthening its zero-tolerance policy on uncivil behavior to improve the results of the Clark Workplace Health Assessment. The organization can also enhance training and education programs to help employees understand the need to embrace civility in the workplace. For example, the concept can be used by the organization to train employees on issues such as conflict resolution mechanisms, ways of engaging in challenging communications, and how to embrace diversity.
General Notes/Comments

Part 3: Evidence-based strategies to create high-performance interprofessional teams

A high-performance interprofessional team is characterized by goal-oriented team members with specialized expertise and complementary skills and who are keen to collaborate, be innovative and produce consistently superior results (Morley & Cashell, 2017).  To establish such teams, there is a need for the organization to educate employees on the importance of embracing workplace diversity. This strategy can help employees to appreciate individual differences and hence find better ways of solving conflicts due to differences in perspectives. There is also a mixed-interventions strategy recommended by Milesky et al. (2015) and proven to work in reducing incivility in the workplace. This strategy recommends providing support to individuals and educating victims of uncivil behaviors and their perpetrators. Consequently, disciplinary actions against the perpetrators of uncivil behaviors in the workplace should be taken while educating the victims on better ways of dealing with future aggression. The organization should also enforce policies and impose penalties to discourage bullying, harassment, intimidation, violence, and threats. The strategy also requires that organizations promote social interaction and interventions that encourage collective responsibility that creates a safe and supportive workplace culture.

In order for the organization to bolster successful practices revealed in the work environment assessment, a number of strategies can be implemented by the management. First, the organization should continue raising awareness of the importance of embracing workplace civility by tolerating each other. It is possible that some employees may not fully understand what it means to be civil. Therefore, having sessions with them on good behavior and how to show respect to colleagues can help to promote civility. Secondly, the organization should foster effective, open communication among everyone working in it because it is the best way to identify where there are gaps in terms of civility and facilitate ways of bridging them.

 

References

Clark, C. M. (2015). Conversations to inspire and promote a more civil workplace. American Nurse Today, 10(11), 18-23.

Clark, C. M., Olender, L., Cardoni, C., & Kenski, D. (2011). Fostering civility in nursing education and practice: Nurse leader perspectives. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(7/8), 324-330.

Milesky, J. L., Baptiste, D. L., Foronda, C., Dupler, A. E., & Belcher, A. E. (2015). Promoting a culture of civility in nursing education and practice. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 5(8), 90-94

Morley, L., & Cashell, A. (2017). Collaboration in health care. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, 48(2), 207-216.

Stalter, A. M., Phillips, J. M., Goldschmidt, K. A., Brodhead, J., Ruggiero, J. S., Scardaville, D. L., & Merriam, D. (2020, November). Promoting civility in nursing practice using systems thinking: Evidence‐based teaching strategies for nurse educators. In Nursing forum (Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 754-762).