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Workplace Environment Assessment

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Workplace Environment Assessment

Part 1: Work Environment Assessment

The Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory is an essential tool for assessing the health of a

workplace environment. Scores range from 20 to 100, with higher scores reflecting healthier

environments. The assessment reinforced leadership's impact on civility in my workplace, a

community hospital emergency department (ED). After completing the inventory, my workplace

scored 85 out of 100 (moderately healthy). This score indicates that the workplace is generally

positive and civil with room for improvement. The primary strength I noted was in the domain of

shared governance highlighting employee engagement in decision-making processes via

feedback sessions. Others include teamwork and collaboration, and respect among colleagues.

With all the positives, I did notice moderate to low scores in the domains of communication

which revealed a lack of transparency with policy updates and workload balance where

imbalances were created by fluctuating patient volumes. Additionally, conflict resolution was

identified as a key domain of requiring improvements. These findings are consistent with

workplace factors valued in the inventory, such as trust, employee satisfaction, professional

growth and equitable workplace treatment.

Two aspects surprised me from the evaluation. The first one is the moderate score (3 out

of 5) of communication. I had presumed a combination of frequent team huddles and modern

electronic communication systems would promote seamless flow of information, but the

assessment revealed discrepancies in handoffs and policy dissemination. This gap in

communication might cause possible health data misunderstandings in a fast-paced ED

environment. My second surprise was on the low rating for workload manageability (scoring 2

out of 5). Just about a month ago, staffing adjustments seemed adequate, yet the results revealed
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deeper inequities in shift distribution. These staffing gaps led to burnout more significantly than I

thought they would. One idea I had going into the assessment that was affirmed was the strong

positive culture of respect and inclusion. The high rating for fair treatment and diversity (rated 4-

5) supported my observation of strictly enforced anti-harassment policies and training programs.

This culture fostered a sense of value and belonging among diverse staff members.

The assessment findings indicate that my workplace’s environment is moderately healthy

and civil. Respectful interactions, teamwork spirit, ethical practice characterize this environment

and function to support effective daily operations and positive patient outcomes (Clark, 2015).

Civility is strongly highlighted in the high scores for teamwork and shared governance domains.

In my ED setting, open dialogue through anonymous surveys and team huddles are key in

fostering the spirit of inclusion and motivation. Anti-harassment policies are strictly enforced,

and diversity training guarantees fair workplace treatment. Yet, a score below 90 suggests there

is room for improvement, particularly in dealing with workload imbalances that lead to stress

and minor conflicts. Unchecked, these highlighted gaps have the potential to erode staff morale

or put patient safety at risk (Marshall & Broome, 2021). Conclusively, the assessment results

indicate a platform of health and civility that can be elevated through focused interventions to

attain healthcare excellence.

Part 2: Reviewing the Literature

The article of choice, "Fostering a Culture of Civility and Respect in Nursing" (Clark,

2019), presents the Pathway to Fostering Organizational Civility (PFOC) as a robust model for

cultivating civility in healthcare settings. It theorizes that lack of civility and respect pose

significant threat to patient safety, employee well-being, and organizational stability. Incivility is

displayed through rude, or disruptive behavior, ranging from subtle actions like eye rolling,
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gossiping, or withholding of information to more overt ones such as belittling comments that

undermine trust and teamwork in the care environment. The PFOC provides a structured

approach to address incivility rooted in ethical guidelines such as ANA Code of Ethics which

emphasizes dignity and respect, legal provisions like Healthy Workplace Bill initiatives and

healthcare regulations and mandates such as zero-tolerance for workplace violence. The

framework involves first raising awareness of the consequences of uncivil behaviours, which

include medication errors and high staff turnover rates. This is followed by setting up and

empowering a broad-based civility team with solid institutional backing. It moves on to assessing

organizational civility using tools like the Clark Healthy Workplace Inventory, developing a

data-informed action plan, and taking implementation steps ranging from training courses to

cognitive rehearsal techniques for dealing with uncivil behavior. The process continues with

continuous monitoring through performance indicators such as staff surveys, recognizing and

reinforcing civil behaviors to sustain progress. Finally, the initiative is scaled up by

disseminating insights and experiences across several departments in the organization.

This model correlates closely to the results of my Work Environment Assessment, which

yielded a moderate healthy score of 85. The main strengths, respect and collaboration, are

consistent with Clark's emphasis on the importance of positive relationships in civil workplace

environments. While workload and conflict management inefficiencies were identified as

shortcomings, Clark also acknowledged these factors to be common incivility catalysts. For

instance, unbalanced workloads might nurture feelings of resentment, leading to uncivil

interactions that error risks amid stress in our high-pressure ED environment. The moderate

communication score as per the assessment is also a product of Clark's critique of what

constitutes ineffectual conversation in reinforcing incivility patterns.

To improve organizational health and strengthen ED work teams, my organization could

apply the PFOC through tailored measures. Leadership could begin by conducting routine

civility assessments to identify disparities. This is then followed by implementation of fair shift

allocations using analytical scheduling tools to minimize burnout and curb resentment. For

instance, enrollment of nursing teams into essential workshops featuring cognitive rehearsal

exercises, such as rehearsing replies to sarcasm like "That's not helpful; let's discuss privately".

This intervention may enhance conflict resolution in high-intensity shifts and mitigate patient

safety risk. Furthermore, designing a staff-involved civility charter could involve peer-

recognition programs, such as recognitions awarded weekly for civil behaviour. These efforts

strongly foster a sense of workplace accountability and enthusiasm. Managers could exemplify

these practices, motivating and leading teams towards common goals, and ultimately enhancing

patient care by nurturing durable, cooperative care teams (Marshall and Broome, 2021). These

modifications would eliminate assessment deficiencies and create an environment where civility

drive excellent performance.

Part 3: Evidence-Based Strategies to Create High-Performance Interprofessional Teams

The Working Environment Assessment process revealed significant deficiencies in

workload management and conflict resolution. These, if unresolved, could impact detrimentally

on team performance and patient safety. One of the evidence-based strategies to address gaps is

the adoption of cognitive rehearsal training programs. McDermott et al. (2021) found that a one-

hour educational intervention was effective in enhancing novice nurses' identification of and

response to incivility. This technique uses scripted practice, where participants rehearse

assertive, professional responses to uncivil behaviors. This strategy enables nurses to keep their

cool and steer the interactions in a more positive direction. In my ED setting, implementing
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monthly 60-minute sessions may help staff to simulate scenarios such as calmly responding to

derogatory remarks during handoffs. Furthermore, this approach would reduce the impact of

conflict, boost staff morale, and enhance focus patient care amid chaos. Post-training

assessments could track decreases in reported incidents, ensuring long-term program

effectiveness. A second approach involves setting up a Diversity, Equity, and Civility (DEC)

Council. Lee & Miller (2022) have proposed this strategy to systematically audit and equitably

redistribute workloads while addressing underlying biases. This council, whose members

included nurses, administrators and HR representatives, would analyze staffing metrics on a

quarterly basis and recommend interventions, such as such as flexible scheduling or acuity-based

patient assignments, to address imbalances, For example, by analyzing shift distribution data

trends, the council could identify disparities affecting underrepresented groups and take

corrective targeted actions to promote inclusivity and prevent burnout.

To reinforce successful elements such as robust teamwork and shared governance, one

approach is to elevate the role of nurse leadership in civility efforts. According to Ota et al.

(2022), leaders who model civil behaviour and facilitate open dialogue sustain positive cultures.

In practice, this might include nurse managers facilitating monthly team-building exercises like

interprofessional simulation drills that simulate ED emergencies, designed to enhance

collaboration and trust while embedding civility norms. This high-quality review underscores

how leadership-inspired initiatives reduce incivility recurrence by 20-30% in comparable

workplace settings. These activities also significantly boost staff decision-making processes.

Another approach is implementing regular recognition programs. As demonstrated by Clark

(2019) formalized acknowledgments are necessary to reward civil behaviour and excellent

teamwork. In the ED, this could be a small gesture such as a digital “kudos” board or monthly
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awards ceremonies celebrating individual and team contributions. Together, these initiatives

would elevate my workplace from moderately healthy to exemplary.

References

Broome, M., & Marshall, E. S. (2021). Transformational leadership in nursing:

from expert clinician to influential leader. Springer.

Clark, C. (2019). Fostering a Culture of Civility and Respect in Nursing. Journal

of Nursing Regulation, 10(1), 44–52. [Link]

Lee, S., & Miller, K. (2022). Developing a diversity, equity, and civility council

to advance health equity in nursing academia and practice. Nursing Administration

Quarterly, 46(3), 16–23. [Link]

McDermott, C., Bernard, N., & Hathaway, W. (2021). Taking a stand against

workplace incivility. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 52(5), 232–239.

[Link]

Ota, M., Lam, L., Gilbert, J., & Hills, D. (2022). Nurse leadership in promoting

and supporting civility in health care settings: A scoping review. Journal of Nursing

Management, 30(8), 4221–4233. [Link]