BACKGROUND:This study explores the impact of workplace incivility on veterinary professionals, coping strategies at various levels, and variations dependent on context to provide practical recommendations for organisational management of incivility. METHODS:Semi-structured interviews based on the critical incident technique were employed, involving 18 veterinary professionals in various contexts and roles at participating organisations in the UK. The qualitative data were analysed using conventional content analysis. RESULTS:The findings indicate adverse impacts of incivility, with organisational-level implications for quitting, team dynamics and patient safety. Existing organisational-level mitigation strategies included fostering civility, feedback sessions and education. Participating receptionists and students reportedly experienced more incivility than veterinarians and nurses. Equine veterinarians faced increased incivility at events and due to insurance implications. In teaching settings, participants highlighted the need for student-based interventions. LIMITATIONS:The data are qualitative, making causality difficult to determine. Furthermore, the findings may not be more widely generalisable. CONCLUSION:Concerned veterinary practices are recommended to review their incivility management system and improve clarity of existing processes. Equine clinics may gain from providing personalised resources, while teaching hospitals may benefit from building psychological safety and modelling appropriate responses to incivility.

Background: This study investigates the impact of workplace and client incivility on veterinary staff well-being and job satisfaction, examining both individual responses and organisational support mechanisms Method: A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving a survey of 192 veterinary professionals from various roles and practice types collecting quantitative and qualitative data. The survey measured experiences of incivility, well-being indicators (anxiety, stress, burnout), satisfaction (job satisfaction, turnover intention), and organisational factors (organisational support, social support and civility climate).Results: Client incivility was a significant predictor of increased anxiety, burnout, and stress, while co-worker incivility was a significant predictor of increased anxiety. Organisational support and team civility were found to be significant predictors of job satisfaction and turnover intention, with organisational support mediating the impact of co-worker incivility on anxiety. Qualitative analysis highlighted the importance of listening to staff concerns and taking proactive measures to address incivility.Limitations: The data are cross-sectional and subjective. The sample is predominantly female.Conclusion: Effective management of incivility in veterinary practices requires robust organisational support and clear policies. Practices should prioritize listening to staff, fostering a supportive environment, and implementing training programs to mitigate the adverse effects of incivility on staff well-being and job satisfaction.

Mountaineering is a potentially risky activity, encompassing uncertain and dynamic terrains alongside adverse weather conditions. Within this context mountain guides work with client groups to plan activities and enhance safety. Despite the integral nature of mountain guides, and their responsibility for other individuals, to date there has been no research examining the range of non-technical skills (cognitive and social skills such as situation awareness and teamwork) necessary for safe and effective performance within this role. The aim of the current study was to explore perceptions of non-technical skills by mountain guides to better understand the skills that are considered important for maintaining safety during mountaineering activities, as well as explore perception of factors that might impact performance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 British Mountain Guides. Content analysis led to the development of six non-technical skill categories (situation awareness, decision-making, leadership, teamwork & communication, cognitive readiness, task management) with associated elements. Some of the elements, including managing client expectations and adaptive communication have not been previously reported in non-technical skills research and may be unique to mountain guides. Guides perceived there to be a range of factors that might impact safety and performance in this context including client behaviour, factors influencing cognition, environmental conditions and actions of other groups. The results highlight the range of skills that are encapsulated within the mountain guide's role, skills that guides considered vital for both safety and client management. This suggests a need for non-technical skills training going forward for mountain guides. Management implications: Mountain guide activities are a core aspect of adventure tourism across multiple countries. One of the most important elements of the mountain guide role is the protection and enhancement of client safety. Within the current context of commercial growth and regulatory development for adventure activities, the current results highlight the range of skills, both social and cognitive, reported by mountain guides as vital to maintain the safety and performance of themselves and their groups. The current lack of defined training and assessment in these skills for mountain guides is therefore potentially problematic. Moving forward training in these skills, comprising leadership, teamwork and communication, decision-making, situation awareness, task management and cognitive readiness, should be incorporated into mountain guide development to ensure client safety.

Objective: Non-technical skills, the social and cognitive skills thought necessary for safe and effective working, have been studied within the farming context over the past six years. However, these skills are not yet taught as part of a safety curriculum for farmers, due, in part, to a lack of defined framework and assessment system. The current paper describes the development of the FLINTS behavioural marker system for discussion, observation, evaluation and feedback on non-technical skills for farmers.Method: The development of the behavioural marker system proceeded through three key stages. First, the current research knowledge on non-technical skills was synthesised to compile a list of non-technical skill categories and elements. Second, a series of discussion groups with subject matter experts was conducted to develop behavioural markers for each element. Lastly, refinement and review of the system was undertaken by academics and experts.Results: The FLINTS taxonomy containing five non-technical skill categories and 16 elements was produced. The non-technical skill categories comprised situation awareness, teamwork & communication, leadership, task management and decision-making each with specific elements and behavioural markers.Conclusion: FLINTS represents the first behavioural marker system for farmer non-technical skills, constructed through expert knowledge and advice via discussion and review groups, combined with underpinning research findings. This represents the first step towards the development of non-technical training and assessment for farmers. The FLINTS system was produced as a handbook and is freely available to all potential users (https://research.abdn.ac.uk/nts-farming/flints/).

Behavioural marker systems (observational frameworks geared towards the assessment of non-technical skills by way of behavioural markers) exist across a variety of high-risk occupations, however, no identifiable system currently exists developed from rotary operative data. In this study, discussion groups (n = 9) were undertaken with subject matter experts (n = 20)-including pilots and technical crew operating across search and rescue and offshore transport environments-with the objective of identifying role-specific behavioural markers. Systems were reviewed on an iterative basis by the academic team and received final reviews by additional subject matter experts (n = 6). Two behavioural marker systems were constructed: HeliNOTS (O) for offshore transport pilots and HeliNOTS (SAR) for search and rescue crews; each with domain-specific behavioural markers. Both represent a significant step towards a nuanced approach to training and assessment of helicopter flight crews' non-technical skills and are the first publicly available systems tailored to these distinct mission types.Practitioner summary: There is no publicly available behavioural marker system based on data from rotary operatives. Across this study, two prototype systems were developed: HeliNOTS (SAR) for helicopter search and rescue, and HeliNOTS (O) for helicopter offshore transport. Both HeliNOTS systems represent a nuanced approach towards rotary CRM training and assessment.

Introduction: The concept of normalization of deviance describes the gradual acceptance of deviant observations and practices. It is founded upon the gradual desensitization to risk experienced by individuals or groups who recurrently deviate from standard operating procedures without encountering negative consequences. Since its inception, normalization of deviance has seen extensive, but segmented, application across numerous high-risk industrial contexts. The current paper describes a systematic review of the existing literature on the topic of normalization of deviance within high-risk industrial settings. Method: Four major databases were searched in order to identify relevant academic literature, with 33 academic papers meeting all inclusion criteria. Directed content analysis was used to analyze the texts. Results: Based on the review, an initial conceptual framework was developed to encapsulate identified themes and their interactions; key themes linked to the normalization of deviance included risk normalization, production pressure, culture, and a lack of negative consequences. Conclusions: While preliminary, the present framework offers relevant insights into the phenomenon that may help guide future analysis using primary data sources and aid in the development of intervention methods. Practical Applications: Normalization of deviance is an insidious phenomenon that has been noted in several high-profile disasters across a variety of industrial settings. A number of organizational factors allow for and/or propagate this process, and as such, the phenomenon should be considered as an aspect of safety evaluations and interventions.

Background: Non-technical skills (NTS) are the cognitive and social skills considered vital for safe and effective work performance alongside technical knowledge. The current study seeks to explore these skills in the high-risk domain of felling tasks within the UK forestry context.Method: Semi-structured interviews encompassing the critical incident technique were conducted with 25 forestry employees (9 chainsaw operators, 6 supervisors, 10 managers).Results: The results emphasise the relevance of NTS for chainsaw operations within the forestry context. A range of both social (leadership, teamwork & communication) and cognitive (situation awareness, decision-making, task management, cognitive readiness) NTS were identified. The elements and associated codes within each skill category illustrate the fit of these skills with the specific forestry context, with some elements entirely unique to chainsaw operations. A range of factors that could adversely impact NTS performance were also identified across five categories (external pressure, training and experience, environmental conditions, cognitive influences, individual constraints).Conclusion: The results represent the first step towards developing an NTS framework and associated behavioural marker system for forestry chainsaw operations. Further research and development are required to produce a full system that can be used to support training and assessment of NTS in practice. However, the current results can be used to raise awareness of these skills within the forestry industry, and as support for the inclusion of NTS within chainsaw operator training programs.

Mountaineering is a potentially high-risk activity, encompassing uncertain and dynamic terrains and adverse weather conditions. Within this context mountain guides work with client groups to plan activities and enhance safety. Despite the integral nature of mountain guides, and their responsibility for other individuals, to date there has been no research examining the range of non-technical skills necessary for safe and effective performance within this role. The current study investigates the non-technical skills utilised by mountain guides and evaluates potential influencing factors that might impact performance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 British mountain guides. Content analysis led to the development of six non-technical skill categories (situation awareness, decision-making, leadership, teamwork & communication, cognitive readiness, task management) with 18 associated elements. A number of the elements, including managing client expectations and adaptive communication were entirely unique to this study. Identified influencing factors included client behaviour, factors influencing cognition, environmental conditions and actions of other groups. The results highlight the importance of these skills within the mountain guide context, and the degree to which these skills could be compromised through influencing factors. This suggests a need for non-technical skills training going forward within this complex and high-risk domain.

Livestock cause many fatal and non-fatal agricultural accidents. It is crucial to understand how farmers perceive and manage different risks associated with livestock handling to devise better solutions for accident reduction. The current study investigated farmers' perception and management of four types of livestock handling risks related to self, animal, environment, and equipment. Additionally, farmers' and agricultural stakeholders' perspectives were compared.Two samples comprising 56 farmers and 55 stakeholders from the UK and Ireland completed the online study. Participants were presented with eight short livestock handling vignettes, two per risk type, and were asked to decide whether they would proceed with the task, to report their reasoning, and to detail their risk management strategies. Likert-scale responses across scenarios were compared. Thematic analysis was used to identify qualitative data patterns.Stress and fatigue were perceived as low risk by both samples based on quantitative and qualitative results. The thematic analysis revealed that risk was evaluated in terms of broader aspects, including animal welfare and duty. Participants reported the use of cognitive non-technical skills when mitigating risks associated with handling livestock alone.By changing safety messages to capture farmer priorities, agricultural organisations could encourage risk avoidance, especially in situations involving stress or fatigue. Furthermore, the cognitive non-technical skills identified could be trained within existing courses for farmers.

Veterinary RecordVolume 191, Issue 4 p. 157-159 Research comment Managing client complaints: identifying and mitigating their detrimental impacts on veterinary practitioners Amy Irwin, Corresponding Author Amy Irwin a.irwin@abdn.ac.uk School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this author Amy Irwin, Corresponding Author Amy Irwin a.irwin@abdn.ac.uk School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UKSearch for more papers by this author First published: 19 August 2022 https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.2152Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume191, Issue420 August–3 September 2022Pages 157-159 RelatedInformation

Introduction: All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV) are a popular piece of farming machinery but are sadly linked to many fatalities and injuries every year. Despite evidence that ATV helmets reduce the risk of serious or fatal injury, research suggests that few farmers wear them. The aim of this study was to explore farmer attitudes towards ATV helmets, using the COM-B model as a framework, to identify key barriers and enablers of helmet use and suggest potential interventions to increase helmet use in agriculture. Methods: A mixed-methods online survey featuring quantitative and qualitative questions was used to explore key attitudinal factors relevant to farmer helmet wearing. A total of 211 UK and Irish farmers were recruited, including farm owners, managers, workers and contractors.Results: Personal exemption from risk, emotional benefits, cognitive barriers and guideline prompts were all found to be significant predictors of farmer helmet wearing. Key categories within the qualitative data indicated that helmet properties, risk perception, farming culture and the farming environment could all function as barriers to helmet wearing. Suggested enablers of helmet use included increasing helmet availability and enhancing awareness of the consequences of ATV accidents. Conclusions: The key barriers and enablers presented within this paper highlight the relevance of capability (helmet design, time pressure), opportunity (social norms) and motivation (perceived control of risk) when considering farmer helmet wearing behaviours. In order to encourage farmers to wear helmets it will be necessary to design specific interventions using the behaviour change wheel. Practical applications: Key interventions to prompt helmet use include the inclusion of more cues to prompt helmet wearing (e.g. stickers on the ATV), enhanced training and education, and modelling (e.g. key farming figures shown to wear helmets in the media).

Background: Workplace incivility functions as a workplace stressor, with varying effects according to the status of target and instigator. The current study sought to examine the experience of incivility from clients, co-workers and senior colleagues for veterinary staff.Method: An online mixed-measures survey (n = 252) gathered data from UK veterinary staff (primarily veterinary surgeons and nurses). Quantitative scales were used to collect data on incivility frequency, reported burnout, mental health, job satisfaction, turnover intention and key coping responses. Qualitative data expanded on preferred coping strategies.Results: The impact of uncivil behaviour varied according to the source of the incivility and the status of the target. Specifically, rudeness from senior colleagues predicted turnover intention for veterinary surgeons, whereas client incivility predicted risk of burnout, and senior colleague incivility predicted job satisfaction for veterinary nurses. Seeking support was the most frequently reported coping strategy. The qualitative data indicated further strategies focused on calming the situation, management of self and practice.Conclusion: All veterinary staff are at risk of experiencing incivility, with varying impact across job role and incivility source, indicating incivility interventions need to be tailored. Social support is a vital coping strategy and should be facilitated within practice.

PurposeThe world of work is becoming digital, a process accelerated by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and resultant remote working guidelines. Online internships have become more popular in this context, and yet there remains a lack of research investigating how these internships are perceived across stakeholders. The purpose of this paper was to begin to address this research gap by exploring academic, student and employer perceptions of online internships with a focus on employability.Design/methodology/approachThe research explored 156 stakeholders (53 students, 50 academics and, 53 employer/professionals) perceptions via a mixed-methods online study encompassing quantitative responses to internship vignettes, alongside open-ended questions designed to explore stakeholder attitudes in more depth.FindingsStakeholder groups reported similar attitudes towards online internships. Overall, online internships were viewed as valid, flexible, work experience, linked to skill development and likely to enhance student employability. However, concerns were raised regarding communication protocols and development, intern isolation and a lack of organisational immersion.Practical implicationsBased on the research, the authors make three recommendations to continue to enhance and develop the online internship experience: ensure multiple methods of regular communication between student and organisation, attempt virtual immersion in the organisation and assign each intern additional support beyond their immediate supervisor.Originality/valueBased on a holistic and novel analysis of key stakeholders' viewpoints, this paper provides much needed insights and evidence on how to design and quality assure effective online internship practice.

Incivility has been reported as having an adverse impact on student learning, faculty staff retention and student commitment within Higher Education. As such this behaviour has the potential to reduce student achievement and could have a financial impact. The aim of this research was to examine the impact of teaching context (lecture versus tutorial) and instigator status (staff versus student) on the perception and impact of incivility in academia. Study 1 recruited Scottish participants and utilised a vignette-based approach to evaluate status and context effects across four teaching scenarios. Study 2 recruited participants from the UK and Ireland and used an online survey to gather quantitative and qualitative data investigating uncivil behaviours within lectures and tutorials. The results indicate that the uncivil behaviours absenteeism, non-participation, ignoring and unrelated behaviours were all more frequent during a lecture than a tutorial. Uncivil behaviours were associated with a higher emotional impact within tutorials and an assertive response. In terms of status student behavior was perceived as more uncivil than the equivalent staff behavior, yet a higher emotional response was reported for staff as opposed to student incivility. These results indicate the need for a tailored context-specific approach to addressing incivility within Higher Education.

Background: Interactions with clients have been identified as a key potential stressor within veterinarian work. However, there is a lack of research investigating the experience, and impact, of specific behaviours such as incivility. The current study aimed to address this literature gap by investigating veterinary perceptions of client-based rudeness. Method: Telephone interviews were used to gather qualitative data regarding veterinary perceptions of client-based rudeness. This encompassed the potential causes of incivility, the impact on the veterinarian, and coping strategies.Results: Thematic analysis produced 16 themes relevant to client-based rudeness, and one over-arching theme. The over-arching theme suggested that vets consider client management, and patient care, two distinct aspects of their role. Key themes included the perception of client worry as a key causal factor of rudeness, the utilisation of empathy as a client management technique and the potential for rudeness to have an adverse impact on mental health. A supportive practice was considered vital for enabling successful coping.Conclusion: It is important that veterinary practices are aware of the potential for client rudeness to adversely impact vet wellbeing. Practices should seek to develop guidelines detailing appropriate responses to rudeness, alongside developing a supportive culture to maximise vet coping strategies.

Do accidents where users are injured or killed by unsafe products reveal underlying weaknesses in the safety culture of the responsible organisations? While manufacturing firms have long been concerned with organizational culture factors that relate to product quality, there has been much less attention to the relationship with consumer safety. Product safety culture can be defined as the attitudes, norms, beliefs and behaviours of staff in manufacturing organisations that affect the integrity of a product in relation to the well-being of its users. There has been limited research into this type of safety culture, with the exception of several studies from the food industry. This exploratory study in one large company adopted a qualitative approach to identify the dimensions of product safety culture in the manufacture of engineered products. Study 1 consisted of phone interviews (8 managers, 2 workforce). Study 2 was on two UK manufacturing sites where interviews and focus groups were conducted (46 participants in total: 7 managers, 39 workforce). The transcriptions were coded using inductive thematic analysis to identify the main components of product safety culture. The findings indicated six principal dimensions: management commitment to product safety, communication, safety systems, trust, understanding of safety systems and product safety ethic. The first five dimensions are well-established components of culture relating to worker and process safety. The last dimension appears to be a distinctive component (compared to other types of safety culture) relating to an employee's moral and ethical stance toward product safety, where user well-being is considered during product manufacture. This ethical component is a more novel feature which suggests that fostering concern for unknown product users may be an additional facet of product safety culture worth investigating in the effort to reduce the risks to consumers.

BACKGROUND Interactions with clients have been identified as a key potential stressor within veterinary practice. However, there is a lack of research investigating the experience, and impact, of specific behaviours, such as incivility. The current study aimed to address this literature gap by investigating veterinarian perceptions of client rudeness. METHOD Telephone interviews (n = 18) were used to gather qualitative data regarding veterinarian perceptions of client rudeness. This encompassed description of an uncivil interaction, potential causes of incivility, the impact on the veterinarian and coping strategies. RESULTS The results indicate that veterinarians are exposed to a range of rude behaviours from clients, with suggested causal attributions spanning financial concerns, stress and worry. Adverse consequences associated with uncivil interactions included increased stress, mental health impacts and withdrawal from clients. Responses to incivility encompassed proactive pre-planning, empathy and clear communication. Support from colleagues was important to enable reflection and coping, alongside individual strategies, such as self-care. CONCLUSION Client incivility has the potential to adversely impact veterinarians. Appraisal of potential external causes for rudeness could facilitate constructive responses to client incivility and support coping. This should be combined with emotional support from colleagues to mitigate any negative consequences following uncivil client interactions.

Situation awareness (SA) is a cognitive safety-critical skill, consisting of three levels – perception, comprehension, and anticipation. SA lapses have been associated with many incidents and accidents across high-risk industries. Stress and fatigue can negatively impact SA, leading to some of these lapses. More recently, the importance of SA has also been acknowledged in agriculture, the most dangerous industry in Ireland and the United Kingdom by injury and fatality rate. The current study aimed to explore SA lapses and the impact of stress and fatigue on SA in agriculture. Fifteen Irish and British farmers were interviewed using the critical incident technique followed by general questions on stress and fatigue in farming. In the critical incident section, interviewees were asked to verbally recall a recent negative farming experience, an error that occurred, or adverse conditions which they had to manage on the farm while feeling tired or stressed. Additional questions were asked to uncover implicit knowledge on SA lapses, stress, and fatigue. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. SA lapses were reportedly involved in all accidents and incidents. Many occurred at the perception level, as a failure to monitor or observe data, usually because of attentional narrowing. Several lapses also occurred at the comprehension level as an incomplete or an inaccurate mental model, usually in the context of a recent change in equipment or machinery. Stress and fatigue had a negative impact on SA through cognitive impairments. A twofold strategy is suggested, focused on strengthening SA and managing stress and fatigue.

Culture has been identified as a factor influencing the way people communicate and behave. Though often imperceptible by its members, cross-cultural interactions can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts. Despite ex-military and civilian trained pilots frequently flying together, there has been a lack of research describing each professional sub-culture. The current study aims to bridge that gap by exploring how professional culture interacts in the cockpit and how it affects pilots’ safety behaviours. The study used in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 participants (14 helicopter pilots) to collect data on effects of professional culture. The data were analysed using conventional content analysis. Content analysis indicated five separate categories relevant to perceptions of professional culture. The findings indicate that pilots acknowledge the cultural differences present between themselves and others, and that culture can have an effect on their and other’s safety behaviours. The participants suggested that various sub-culture types can have impact on flight safety through their effects on communication and the way people interact, but not through technical skills of flying the aircraft. The differences between military and civilian training and flying were discussed in depth. This research highlights the various ways in which culture affects pilots’ safety behaviours and interactions with one another. It also provides an in-depth look at the way pilots perceive and experience cross-cultural interactions in the cockpit.