Volume 38 Number 5 | October 2024
Ali (Nussbaum) Murphy, MHHSA, MLS(ASCP)CM, caPM, ASCLS Director
The workplace can be an amazing place filled with wonderful friendships, rewarding work, and opportunities to stay fulfilled in the profession. This experience, however, is not universal. Some will have a decent working experience, keeping busy and getting a paycheck, but they do not share the feeling of camaraderie. On the other hand, an unfortunate few will experience quite the opposite. Bullying, shaming, and gossip destroy the working culture for some members of the laboratory community, filling the workplace with dread, disappointment, and resentment.
“Eating our young” is a term that describes the experience of some new or young members of a medical laboratory. This term defines the caustic, demoralizing treatment of certain professionals by seasoned laboratorians. Members of our profession in all places may experience workplace toxicity, including bullying, shaming, gossip, general rudeness, and isolation tactics.
In theory, fixing the culture of eating our young should be simple. If leadership refuses to tolerate bullying behaviors and develops a culture of psychological safety, such behaviors could be reduced or eliminated. Unfortunately, in our profession today, developing coping skills is necessary to deal with unchecked toxic culture. These skills are beneficial across numerous areas of life, and they can help you deal with negative events in or out of the workplace.
“These skills are beneficial across numerous areas of life, and they can help you deal with negative events in or out of the workplace.”
Face the Facts
The first tool to deal with a toxic work environment is to examine the facts. The fact of the matter is that each of us is a highly trained, competent scientist. Being the target of bullying is not a reflection on the knowledge that one has, it is a toxic behavior used by others to make themselves feel better. Reflecting on one’s education, determination, motivation, and accomplishments that led to getting a job in a medical laboratory can help the victim remember that they are not at fault.
Each person has the right to take as much time as they need to learn, develop, and become comfortable in a new environment. If senior scientists chose to belittle, ridicule, or talk negatively behind the backs of newer or younger staff, that is a disgrace on the bully, not to the bullied. By looking at the facts of the situation, and not personal feelings, victims remember why they deserve to be there and not treated poorly.
Spotlight Effect
The spotlight effect is the belief that you are the primary focus of someone else’s thoughts. However, in your own mind, you are likely so intent on your own goals and tasks that you give little attention to those around you. You may spend a little energy thinking about someone you’ve recently interacted with or someone with whom you’ve had an embarrassing or negative experience. Otherwise, the majority of your thoughts are centered on your own experience, just like everyone else’s. It is easy to obsess over the idea that other people are focusing all their energy on ruining your day or are targeting you specifically. Remember, bullies are only focused on themselves and thus are not “out to get you.”
Talk to Someone
When all else fails, it is important to talk to someone, professional or not. Someone who you can trust to give you the honest truth, help you work through your feelings, and look for ways to talk to leadership to help fix the situation. Stories of new scientists being bullied out of the medical lab profession are too common. After dealing with a toxic workplace for an extended period of time, sufferers feel the only reprieve from the constant mistreatment is to leave the field.
The emotionally bullied feel they must resort to finding new careers to have a happy, healthy work culture. It is not realistic to wait for bullies to retire to make the environment more welcoming. Additionally, the senior scientist (or whomever is the villain in the lab) may be responsible for creating an environment in which bullies thrive, causing others to continue that behavior into the future.
Regardless of the profession, workplace toxicity can infiltrate and destroy a quality working environment. The laboratory has a high occurrence of disgusting behavior and a reputation for “eating our young.” Luckily, this is not true of every workplace, nor is it accepted by the masses. Learning a few coping skills can help work through the trauma of a toxic workplace and lead to long, fulfilling careers in the medical laboratory profession.
Ali (Nussbaum) Murphy is an LIS Technical Specialist at HealthPartners in Minneapolis, Minnesota.