Diversity and Inclusion

Creating a workplace that is inclusive of all genders is essential for the success of a business. By fostering a culture that values all genders, companies are able to access a wider range of talent, create a more positive environment for all employees, and improve the overall health of their business.

Gender inclusivity in the workplace helps to reduce discrimination, build respect, and encourage employees to express their true identities. Plus, it can increase productivity, foster innovation, and create a sense of belonging for all employees.

Recruiters and talent acquisition leaders are focused on diversity and inclusion more today than ever before. Measuring DEI initiatives has become increasingly important for public companies.

Healthcare organizations and facilities generally serve many different patients. These patients belong to different demographics, such as age or race, or have a range of complex diagnoses or health needs, such as food insecurity or homelessness.

A key aspect of retention in any organization is a culture of inclusion. When your employees feel as if they’re excluded or lack support in their workplace, it can breed feelings of frustration, fear, isolation, lack of motivation, and more.

On the other hand, when inclusion permeates your organization, employees feel their ideas and contributions are valued, and they are supported on every level. Bonus: they are even less likely to leave your organization.

Many healthcare organizations that have weathered the pandemic are now focusing on diversity as their next high priority. As human resources and other healthcare leaders seek to implement specific strategies, here are three key elements you must keep in mind.

1. Create SMART Goals

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in healthcare can look different across communities and facilities. This can make success more challenging to define. However, that does not mean that diversity strategies have to be nebulous.

Everyone experiences a difficult day or even week on the job. When an employee develops burnout, however, they can experience chronic stress and exhaustion. They may feel cynical, frustrated, and ineffective at their job. This can reduce productivity, increase turnover, and, in clinical roles, lead to medical errors that can put patients in danger.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may come as no surprise that increased job stress and patient frustration have resulted in an increasingly hostile environment for nurses. Nursing is a profession that requires long hours in a high-stress environment, with a heavy workload thanks to the current nursing shortage. 

These factors create a workplace that is ripe for nurse bullying. 

WHAT IS NURSE BULLYING?

In 2022, it’s a prospective employee’s world, and never more so than in healthcare.

There is constant pressure to fill vacant positions in healthcare systems at all levels, from executives and physicians to nurses and support staff members.

Healthcare providers looking to promote equity in healthcare outcomes and reduce cultural healthcare disparities might want to look inward, particularly at the diversity of their leadership teams.

Work models have been in limbo since the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted long-held workplace norms. This year, employers have to make long-term decisions for managing their workforces moving forward.