Inclusion café

Welcome to the Inclusion Café

The Inclusion Café aims to build, source and share tools and techniques that help to support our own leadership and accountability in creating inclusive workplace cultures. Some of the hardest conversations are often easiest when they are accompanied with kindness, skill and courage. 

You can:

• Download the first part of the RCN Inclusion Café resource which aims to raise awareness of your rights in the workplace in relation to equality and inclusion.
• Find out more about the work that the RCN engages in relation to equality and inclusion.
• Connect and share your own stories and experiences of what works well in tackling incivility by following us on twitter at @RCN_Inclusion or emailing diversity.team@rcn.org.uk

Incivility in nursing

Workplace incivility is characterised by low-intensity poor behaviour which is typically experienced as rude and discourteous with an ambiguous intent to harm. 

Research suggests that workplace incivility is rising in the workplace and has a particular impact for nurses, healthcare support workers and on patient care. Rising demand, fewer resources as well as the combination of organisational cultures and environment can erode morale and create the conditions for workplace incivility to create a spiral of negativity. Typically, workplace incivility tends to go unaddressed and unacknowledged despite its impact.

Civil workplace behaviours are often described as being characterised by respect being displayed towards team members, active listening, seeking common ground as well as acknowledging and making constructive use of difference to strengthen team work.

Workplace incivility takes many forms. In its most subtle forms examples may include ‘dirty-looks’, being interrupted unnecessarily, not being listened to or being spoken to in a patronising or condescending tone. More obvious examples can take the form of emotional put-downs, silent treatment or comments or gestures that have the impact of making the ‘target’ feel that they are not respected or valued in the workplace.

Generating and maintaining a strong civility culture is vital to delivering better outcomes for patients and also better workplace experience of nurses and healthcare support workers too. Whilst policies and organisational development and compliance approaches are key to achieving this, it is important that individuals are empowered and supported to exercise their own leadership in this area as good communication and effective teamwork as well as respect for difference are an important part of the professional code. The “Hello my name is…” campaign founded by the late Dr Kate Granger is one example of the importance of civility and its profound impact on better patient care. 

In the months to come, we will be working on your behalf to bring you a comprehensive range of online and virtual support to enable you to have the conversations that matter most to building trusting and supportive relationships with others in the workplace.