Jones et al propose clear causes and remedial actions for organisations wanting to address avoidable employee harm (AEH). They also highlight the links with patient harm and the need for organisations to consider these problems together. An organisation's attitude to whistle-blowers is surely the place where patient and employee care overlap. Many notorious cases of patient harm have been rooted in a failure by executive teams to acknowledge problems and even active resistance to or suppression of "bad" news. This paper illustrates how similarly defensive attitudes can harm employees. Avoidance of both requires the unpicking of systems and cultures which are designed to protect organisation's reputations and shield senior leaders from blame.
Jones et al propose clear causes and remedial actions for organisations wanting to address avoidable employee harm (AEH). They also highlight the links with patient harm and the need for organisations to consider these problems together. An organisation's attitude to whistle-blowers is surely the place where patient and employee care overlap. Many notorious cases of patient harm have been rooted in a failure by executive teams to acknowledge problems and even active resistance to or suppression of "bad" news. This paper illustrates how similarly defensive attitudes can harm employees. Avoidance of both requires the unpicking of systems and cultures which are designed to protect organisation's reputations and shield senior leaders from blame.