Running Head: WORK ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT 1
WORK ENVIRONMENT ASSESSMENT 2
Work Environment Assessment.
Student’s Name:
Professor’s Name:
Date.
Overview.
Work environment assessment provides the best platform in which one may be able to conduct an extensive tour, which will help them observe their workplace to better understand how the work environment is set along with the working conditions. The assessment provides more insights into the kind of work environment employees work in and facilitates easy identification of physical factors at and near the worksite that either supports or hampers employees’ efforts to provide required services(Clark, 2019). During work environment assessment, employee health is assessed alongside evaluation of another physical, organizational work environment to ascertain which kind of health risks and hazards may the employees and the entire organization be facing as they carry out their daily durries
Part 1: Review the Work Environment Assessment Template you completed for this Module’s Discussion. Describe the results of the Work Environment Assessment you completed in your workplace. Identify two things that surprised you about the results and one idea you believed before conducting the Assessment that was confirmed. Explain what the results of the Assessment suggest about the health and civility of your workplace.
As mentioned early, work environment assessment is one of the critical components that help to determine the type of working environment employees are exposes to and perhaps offer the opportunity for managers to re-evaluate their organizational culture so as to provide a better working environment that takes care of health, social and psychological needs of the employees. Upon the review of the template completed for the module’s discussion along with the incorporation of Clark health inventory concepts of touring, assessing, evaluating, and analyzing my current workplace, the final findings of the work environment assessment yielded a report whose score value was 69(Clark, 2019). The reported provided a clear reflection of the type of working informant other employees and I have been exposed to.
A score of 69 from the assessment report indicates that my current workplace is a good place to be as an employee. It communicates to the employees that although there are a few challenges within the workplace, few adjustments still could result in a more remarkable improvement in the work setting. As an employee working in the home healthcare setting, it is worth mentioning that the organization I have been working with has put forth adequate resources to ensure that the quality of services provided by home-based nurses meets the expected standards(Clark, 2019). Besides providing enough resources, the organization has collaborated with the local community to ensure that nurses executing various functions under its leadership are well protected. Their welfare looks into making them feel valued and highly recognized in their daily work.
I was not that much surprised with the Assessment result since the working conditions have been good as the organization has been so supportive and worked with the entire staff collaboratively to facilitate the kind of healthcare services we offer. Even though the workplace was good, I can say that a few things perhaps made me feel surprised among these included increased disparities of payment rates between the home-based care providers and hospital-based caregivers. Another surprising thing is that for along there has been a lack of adequate staff to execute critical duties that have not yet been addressed. One thing that was confirmed is the lack of clear mission content due to ineffective communication and sharing of healthcare data to facilitate effective decision-making (Clark, 2019). From the assessment report, it can be concluded that the workplace is uncivil. Many remote areas are not safe due to increased incidences of healthcare provider attacks and rampant cases of violent patients, which have affected how caregivers render their services.
Part 2: Briefly describe the theory or concept presented in the article(s) you selected. Explain how the theory or concept presented in the article(s) relates to the results of your Work Environment Assessment. Explain how your organization could apply the theory highlighted in your selected article(s) to improve organizational health and/or create stronger work teams. Be specific and provide examples.
From the readings provided in the conceptual model of Clark, it can be said that much has been gained in terms of understanding our work environment on both a negative and positive note. The readings provided in-depth knowledge about leadership, teamwork among employee’s incivility, and civility aspects of our working environments. Many challenges that put healthcare providers at risk of contracting illnesses and diseases, along with workplace violence and increased cases of violent patients, play a critical role in defining the civility or incivility of workplace setting (Clark et al., 2011). I can attest that through the concepts work environment assessment, it has been easy to establish various challenges faced by many home-based setting care providers, and this will serve as the framework to effectively tackle such issues identified so as to ensure that quality services are provided to the community and as well ensure that nurses or home-based caregivers are well protected from any possible risks.
From the articles that I selected, I was able to note that some of the critical concepts related to the week’s reading and the question itself revolved around inadequate means of communication, lack of teamwork, collaboration, and coordination among home-based caregivers due to ineffective leadership that could provide the way forward when need be. Besides that, the articles I selected also expressed significant concerns over the increased rate of crimes in remote areas alongside the emergence of several incidences of patients attacking healthcare providers.
In my opinion, the concepts presented in those articles can be applied to ensure that there is a formulation of good leadership that is focused on problem-solving to facilitate the adequate provision of quality services without or with limited disruption(Clark et al., 2011). Perhaps healthcare organizations can apply the concepts to rally and initiate programs that facilitate good interpersonal relationships, which in turn promote effective communication and collaboration among health caregivers.
Part 3: Recommend at least two strategies, supported in the literature, that can be implemented to address any shortcomings revealed in your Work Environment Assessment. Recommend at least two strategies that can be implemented to bolster successful practices revealed in your Work Environment Assessment.
Health care providers play a critical role in promoting public health through the application of best practices. As mentioned early, the assessment report indicates various shortcomings in my current workplace, and among the critical areas included lack of proper means of communication and sharing of healthcare data or information that could help make the amicable health-based decision for the benefit of the community(Chandrashekar, Moodley, & JainOctober, 2019). Also, lack of collaboration and teamwork has posed many challenges to healthcare providers, especially those working in a home-based health setting. One of the strategies that can be deployed to promote effective communication in my healthcare organization is incorporating mandatory training on effective communication along with regular schedules of employee meetings to facilitate sharing of ideas, challenges, and feedback provision over pertinent healthcare issues(Clark et al., 2011).
In order to promote collaboration and teamwork among healthcare givers, it will be essentially good to use strategies such as the removal of barriers that hinder interactions among the healthcare providers. Healthcare organizations need to define their collaborative approach to the health care team so as to provide clear guidelines on the type of healthcare groups and professionals that could interact and share patients’ care goals .Finally, the issues of inadequate staff can be solved by deployment of strategies that focus on creation a comfortable and good working environment along with compensation of healthcare providers who work for extra time will help increase caregivers’ morale (Clark et al., 2011). Establishing a healthcare provider’s welfare forum to solve any arising issues will further help reduce the number of employee turnouts.
References
Beard, C. A., & Barrow, C. W. (2019). Promote the General Welfare. The Republic, 106-118. doi:10.4324/9781315134536-8
Chandrashekar, P., Moodley,, S., & JainOctober, S. H. (2019, October 17). 5 Obstacles to Home-Based Health Care, and How to Overcome Them. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2019/10/5-obstacles-to-home-based-health-care-and-how-to-overcome-them
Clark, C. M. (2019). Fostering a culture of civility and respect in nursing. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 10(1), 44-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2155-8256(19)30082-1
Clark, C. M., & Fey, M. K. (2019). Fostering civility in learning conversations. Nurse Educator, 45(3), 139-143. https://doi.org/10.1097/nne.0000000000000731
Clark, C. M., Olender, L., Cardoni, C., & Kenski, D. (2011). Fostering civility in nursing education and practice. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 41(7/8), 324-330. https://doi.org/10.1097/nna.0b013e31822509c4