Have you ever been a victim of workplace harassment? Or perhaps the perpetrator? Workplace harassment can manifest in a number of different forms and ranges greatly in severity. In the field of nursing, harassment can impact communcation, teamwork, and nursing care which ultimately threatens patient safety. This article is intended to help you gain awareness and identify situations involving workplace harassment. In a later date, we will expand on the effects of workplace harassment and discuss some strategies for dealing with it. 

Workplace harassment can be difficult to recognize as it is often subtle and indirect. While we are all likely familiar with the term “nurses eat their young”,  Edmonson highlights that harassment amongst nurses transcends age, gender, and experience level. For example, younger nurses may make fun of older nurses’ appearances, female nurses can disapprove of male nurses, registered nurses may mistreat licensed practical nurses, etc. Alis Alberta states that workplace violence often involves: rudeness and hostility that disrespects the target, threats and intimidation, including the abuse of power, and deliberate acts that interfere with the target’s work. It is also important to understand that there are many different environmental factors that can affect the likelihood of workplace harassment. For example, management that leads by intimidation and fear tend to foster the same feelings between staff. Another example is when cliques form, this can foster the feeling of being left out even if it was not done deliberately. High stress and heavy workloads can also cause workplace harassment to thrive. With the current pandemic situation, it is likely that both of these factors are magnified. 

Below is a list of examples of workplace harassment taken from the Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety:

• Spreading malicious rumours, gossip, or innuendo

• Excluding or isolating someone socially

• Undermining or deliberately impeding a person's work

• Withholding necessary information or purposefully giving the wrong information

• Making jokes that are 'obviously offensive' by spoken word or e-mail

• Intruding on a person's privacy by pestering, spying or stalking

• Assigning unreasonable workloads 

• Criticizing a person persistently or constantly

• Belittling a person's opinions

• Public embarrassment/shaming

• Continued denial of requests for training, leaves or promotion

The College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta will be hosting a session that highlights bullying in nursing on April 13, 2021. Click here to get more information and register for the session. If you have been affected by workplace bullying and would like to discuss or get help, reach out to UNA at 1-800-252-9394.

Bullies at work: What to know and what you can do. (2020, August 19). Retrieved from https://alis.alberta.ca/succeed-at-work/manage-challenges/bullies-at-work-what-to-know-and-what-you-can-do/

Bullying in the workplace. (2021, February 01). Retrieved from https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/bullying.html

Edmonson C, Zelonka C. (2019). Our Own Worst Enemies: The Nurse Bullying Epidemic. Nurs Admin Q., 43(3), 274–279. doi:10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000353