Abstract
AIM statement: It is the goal of this quality intervention (QI) is an interactive didactic program, practice, and exercises that model elements of self-awareness and the techniques of personal de-escalation. The staff in a specialty department at a healthcare system will increase their all employee survey scores for work-group psychological safety from 3.32 to 3.44 within two months following the intervention. Objective: Workplace violence is a growing concern across many disciplines in the United States and across the globe. It is a costly interaction that is counterproductive and leaves a lasting impression on the participants. Workplace interaction that involves some form of violence may not always be bullying or lateral violence. Early levels of aggressive behavior maybe demonstrated in the form of workplace discord. This discord, can stem from the interplay of stressors that overwhelm coping skills of the individual, resulting in negative exchanges among co-workers. An objective is for participants to increase self-awareness using techniques of mindfulness and biofeedback. These skills will assist the individual to be present in the moment and able to be more objective with what they are experiencing. Participants will explore their own precipitating and predisposing factors to stress and use personal de-escalation to calm their responses. This can disrupt the process of workplace discord that can evolve, if not addressed, into lateral violence and onto bullying. Method: A systematic review of literature, utilizing nine databases, was performed to assess the effect of stressors and the coping skills on the individual; and to evaluate if workplace discord arises from the lack of self-awareness and inability to cope with stress. QI: In February 2018, participants engaged in an interactive, didactic program of mindfulness, biofeedback and de-escalation skills. Each person received a workbook containing definitions of terms, mindfulness exercises, and areas to journal their experiences over the next two-weeks. Results: Two weeks following the initial intervention, participants met with the program leader to discuss their progress and journaling experience. All reported that the quality of their daily communication was less than they perceived it to be. At one-month, half continued their daily journaling. Most believed the intervention to be beneficial. One participant volunteered the statement that she did not realized how rude she was. Conclusion: Workplace discord is part of work life. Its effect can be mitigated with increased self-awareness of one’s own action and through personal de-escalation. The success of this intervention was evaluated using the same questions employed during the All Employee Survey as a baseline measure of work-group psychological safety. Improvement in all measures except that of "bring up problems" was noted. This one measure decreased from 3.4 to 3.37. This may be related to the small size of the participant group.