Organizational violence
For several years we have been seeing an upsurge in the complaints from healthcare professionals who are victims of psychological harassment in the workplace. New cases have been brought to our attention almost every week, to the point that the phenomenon is now rampant. Despite this, it remains somewhat difficult to get the CSST or an arbitration tribunal to recognize this specific form of violence and it is a very small proportion of these complaints and claims that are accepted, even though they are the result of very real situations. How, then, can we hope to correct this problem?
At the last Women’s Network of the FIQ, which addressed violence and its many forms, one of the findings addressed the issue of psychological harassment: considering an incident from a different angle, by putting it in relation with the context and constraints linked to work, we can redefine it in a completely new perspective, that of organizational violence.
The dispute would then appear to be a symptom of a much bigger problem and the employer, who would normally try and make the essence of the problem an interpersonal conflict, even an incompatibility of the characters of the people involved, will find it more difficult to divest himself of his responsibilities.
We know the healthcare professionals are subjected to an extremely demanding context of work: smaller teams, lack of stability, work overload, heavy cases, poorly defined responsibilities, lack of means, mandatory overtime, unfair working conditions between the regular staff and independent labour, an imbalance between the effort and the recognition of that effort… All these factors which are the direct responsibility of the employer and which, when combined with high expectations and constant pressure from all levels of the decision-making hierarchy, the patients and society in general, will produce fertile ground for an outbreak of this type of violence that we will qualify as organizational.
Organizational violence is insidious. If the basic causes are not dealt with quickly, its first effects involve minor run-ins and rudeness. Incidents that the employer considers trivial and he would prefer to ignore them. Over time, the law of the jungle takes over, the staff will pull away from each other and everyone looks to save their own skin. What follows then is an escalation that can easily lead to psychological harassment, even physical violence.
Should we be surprised by the inaction of the employers, of the mismanagement of the managers, considering that the example is often set higher up, to the point where we could talk about violence on a State-employer scale? In 2011, Yves Bolduc, the previous Minister of Health, stated that “when there is a 10 to 15% shortage, whatever the sector, the workforce there is capable of compensating. It’s a network where the workers are workers who care” [ 1 ]. On May 1, questioned about the budget cuts of more than $50 million imposed on the MUHC in order to offset the mismanagement, waste and corruption, Réjean Hébert, the current Minister of Health, stated he agreed with the cuts in positions, going so far as to add that the number of staff in the institution was too high if we considered the volume of activities and the quality of the services [ 2 ].
How much longer are we going to continue to let our employers carry out this organizational violence and our leaders ignore potentially explosive situations? The management of human resources needs to give way to a more human management of resources.
It is urgent to act and to refuse that violence be part of the “job”. The saying goes that, if we don’t talk about it then it doesn’t exist. So, acknowledge this violence, talk about it, identify it as of the first signs. Refuse organizational violence.
To work in dignity, zero tolerance. Point final!
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Note 1 : Shortage of healthcare staff – The unions accuse Minister Bolduc of taking the situation too lightly, Amélie Daoust Boisvert, Le Devoir; August 25, 2011; <www.ledevoir.com/societe/sante/330030/penurie-de-personnel-en-sante-les-syndicats-accusent-le-ministre-bolduc-de-prendre-la-situation-a-la-legere>
Note 2 : MUHC Cost-cutting, report presented May 1, 2013 on the news coverage on Montreal at 6, aired on the Radio-Canada English network. Reporter: Thomas Daigle.