Reflective Essay on Bullying in the Workplace

This reflective essay discusses the occurrence of bullying in the workplace and explores the use of Driscoll's reflective framework to prevent future occurrences. It examines the stages of the framework and proposes strategies to address and prevent workplace bullying.

Running head: REFLECTIVE ESSAY 1
Reflective essay
Name
Institution

REFLECTIVE ESSAY 2
Reflective essay
Introduction
To help the registered nurse develop skills and review their effectiveness, reflection is
very critical. According to the ‘Registered Nurse Standards for Practice’, Standard 1: Thinks
critically and analyses nursing practice, states the registered nurse: develops practice through
reflection on experiences, knowledge, actions, feelings and beliefs to identify how these shape
practice (NMBA, 2016). This is for the purpose of giving a meaning to an experience that a
nurse comes across as well as providing opportunities so as to establish expectations of an
individual and those of the team. Davis, Taylor, and Reyes (2014) argue that reflection is a
lifelong way of learning as it helps in questioning the actions of an individual in a positive way
thereby understanding the limitations and opportunities that are present in the nursing practice.
However, to conduct a successful reflection, it is important for a nurse to use the reflection
models so as to objectively observe the nursing practice and improve the performance quality at
work (Nicol, & Dosser, 2016). This paper therefore discusses my reflection-on-action I will take
to prevent future occurrences of bullying using Driscoll’s reflective framework.
Driscoll Model of reflection
This model of reflection takes into account three stages which are used to analyze the
nursing practice in regards to what happened, so what (understanding the context of what
happened) and now what (modifying the future outcomes) (Stonehouse, 2019). The stages
presented in this model are very critical in reflecting on individual performance in comparison
with the group performance. Moreover, Driscoll model of reflection helps in making necessary
adjustments that can help improve the future understanding and effective nursing practice (Allan,

REFLECTIVE ESSAY 3
& Driscoll, 2014). I will therefore use this model of reflection as it helps in giving a deeper and
more meaningful process of formulating the action plans which can be used for future.
What (The occurrence)
Anne who is a nurse at my workplace has been bullying and harassing Susan who is a co-
worker. This case was reported to me by Susan since I am the manager at the public hospital.
Although there are laws guiding the rights of workers within the hospital, Anne has continued
with this habit even over the phone when Susan is not at work. I then asked Susan to explain to
me the nature of the bullying and harassments she has been receiving from her colleague. Susan
explained to me that the bullying was in form of demeaning and hurtful comments. This has been
happening on a daily basis. I then asked Susan to show me the hurtful comments she has been
receiving from Anne. This was to enable me trace back to the assumed statements as well as
understanding the basis of the comments that Susan has been receiving (Allen, Holland, &
Reynolds, 2015). According to Chatziioannidis, Bascialla, Chatzivalsama, Vouzas, and
Mitsiakos (2018), reviewing evidence of bullying is essential in helping determine why an
individual is being targeted.
Susan looked and sounded distressed to an extent she had to request for a work leave. She looked
depressed. It was evident that Susan had increased levels of sadness and her self-esteem had
reduced. She also had feelings of social isolation and shame. All these increased her chances of
developing mental health issues, substance abuse or even suicide. I then took it to myself to
investigate the issue so as to find out why Anne has been bullying Susan, as well as determine
the help that Susan needed so that she may get back to work when she is psychologically fit.
Moreover, Anne and Susan need to get along so as to enhance collaboration between them.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY 4
So what (Understanding the context)
When Susan reported to me, I thought that it was just mishap which could be solved between
them. Since disagreements are common in workplaces, I felt that Susan was being petty and was
just making a big deal out of an issue that they could solve among themselves. However, after
my research, I have realized that the bullying and harassment that was subjected to Susan by
Anne tremendously affected her psychological and emotional well-being and has the potential of
causing physical harm to Susan or even death. I have learnt that since Anne is aware that
physical assault is an offence at the workplace, she was using verbal means as there will be no
evidence. Anne is also demeaning Susan through messages because when Susan is out of
workplace, she may be excused. According to Lee, Lee, and Bernstein (2013), bullying and
harassment of colleagues in a hospital creates an atmosphere of fear, humiliation and feelings of
powerlessness. I have also learnt that Susan was scared of reporting the incident when it started
for fear of being blamed for the situation or that she may end up loosing her job. My
involvement in the matter enabled me to discover that Anne demeans and harasses Susan
because Susan is vulnerable and non-confrontational. Nurses who are introvert, anxious or even
submissive in their roles are likely to be bullied and harassed (Wright, & Khatri, 2015).
Therefore, the bullying that Susan has been going through exacerbated her anxiety symptoms.
The most dominant factor that influenced Susan’s bullying was her personality traits. The fact
that she finds it hard to say no and even being quick to apologize even when she is not guilty
proved her vulnerability to Anne thereby prompting her to bully Susan. This proved the
opportunistic nature of Anne, the reason as to why she chose Anne who is more vulnerable and
easier to intimidate.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY 5
Now what (Modifying the future outcomes)
After determining the underlying causes, I decided to summon both Susan and Anne so as to
help settle the tension between them. Since Anne was the one on the wrong, I made her
apologize to Susan by using polite language and tone so that Susan may stop feeling lonely and
isolated. I also took Anne to our psychosocial department to get free counseling so that she may
accept and learn to live with the incident. Counselling was also very effective in helping her
regain her psychological consciousness and enhancing her assertiveness. Although Anne,
admitted to her mistakes, I still needed to establish and enforce strong and consistent corporate
culture which helps in ensuring inclination of bullying within the hospital so as to prevent such
events in future. I decided to train all the employees on the importance of upholding the anti-
bullying policies within the workplace. Castronovo, Pullizzi and Evans (2016) argue that the
anti-bullying policies within the workplace are of little importance if the employees do not
understand their meanings and consequences. This training will ensure that the employees know
their rights and when to report cases of bullying so that fair investigation may be conducted and
action taken against the offenders. Failure to create awareness will make employees think that
such cases are not taken seriously. I will also review the policies of anti-bullying at the
workplace. Since the current policies are only applicable within the institution, I will ensure that
they cover outside the institution as well. Since in Susan’s case she was bullied and harassed
even outside the workplace, it is important to include policies that promote respect to all the
employees within and outside the workplace. The revised policies will also provide clear
expectations in regards to the interactions among colleagues as well as define the channels of
reporting cases of bullying. I will also ensure that I listen to both the formal and informal
concerns of the employees. Being aware of sudden shifts and pattern changes in behavior is an

REFLECTIVE ESSAY 6
alarming factor which should be investigated by the managers (Koh, 2016). This will help in
effectively addressing the concerns and aggressions of the employees before further escalations.
Finally, another strategy that I will use in future to prevent bullying at the workplace is being a
role model to the junior employees. According to Barr and Dowding (2019), by treating the
everyone with reverence, respectful interactions are encouraged throughout all the
communication channels. I therefore expect myself to be able to set the overall tone of workplace
behavior since the employees will be watching for my cues.
Conclusion
Reflection is very important in examining actions and experiences of an individual
registered nurse so as to enhance clinical knowledge and advancements. Reflecting on specific
occurrences on the other hand helps in nurses to autonomously develop in their area of practice.
However, distinctive models are used for reflection so as to ensure that the specific experiences
are well addressed. In the case of Susan being bullied by Anna, the use of Driscoll model of
reflection is very effective in ensuring that implications related to bullying are addressed. This
model entails three stages namely what, so what and now what. Throughout the reflection
process, the stages of the Driscoll model framework play critical role in ensuring that on-action
strategies to prevent future occurrences of bullying are implemented.

REFLECTIVE ESSAY 7
References
Allan, E. G., & Driscoll, D. L. (2014). The three-fold benefit of reflective writing: Improving
program assessment, student learning, and faculty professional development. Assessing
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Allen, B. C., Holland, P., & Reynolds, R. (2015). The effect of bullying on burnout in nurses: the
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Barr, J., & Dowding, L. (2019). Leadership in health care. SAGE Publications Limited.
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Castronovo, M. A., Pullizzi, A., & Evans, S. (2016). Nurse bullying: a review and a proposed
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Chatziioannidis, I., Bascialla, F. G., Chatzivalsama, P., Vouzas, F., & Mitsiakos, G. (2018).
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Nursing Sciences, 3(2), 213-222.

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Lee, Y., Lee, M., & Bernstein, K. (2013). Effect of workplace bullying and job stress on turnover
intention in hospital nurses. Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental
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Nicol, J. S., & Dosser, I. (2016). Understanding reflective practice. Nursing Standard
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