Workplace Incivility and Nursing Staff: An Analysis Through the Lens of Jean Watson's Theory of Human Caring

Abstract

Nursing is known for caring attributes, yet many nurses experience bullying. This work expands on an earlier caring-theory-guided research study on the caritas practice of mindfulness that uncovered findings associated with incivility (King et al., 2019). The aim of this qualitative inquiry was to assess nursing perspectives of non-caring behaviors in the workplace and how to intervene to reduce bullying in nursing relationships. Emergent themes were disrespect, trust, alienation, and non-verbal body language. Nursing staff provided feedback to reduce incivility and increase caring consistent with Watson's theory of human caring, which validates the need for a professional change in hospital culture.