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Transgressive behaviour

Investigation of transgressive behaviour and workplace harassment in Veterinary Clinics in the Netherlands.

Increase in harassment and transgressive behavior in veterinary practice

More than two-thirds of veterinary professionals experienced one or more forms of transgressive behavior. That is more than twice as many as in an earlier poll in 2007 and nearly seven times as many as the average Dutch working population. Independent research by St. Anna Advies among veterinarians and supporting veterinary staff shows that the latter group is particular on the front lines. Almost three-quarters of them reported uncivil or transgressive behavior. Specifically, nearly two in three veterinary professionals experience some form of aggression or violence. Also, one in three experiences bullying behavior, one in seven discrimination and one in 16 sexual harassments. Not only customers, but also colleagues and supervisors are amongst the offenders. These are dramatic findings, when keeping in mind the high dropout rate among veterinary professionals and the current mental health issues in the profession.

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More transgressive behavior than in comparable industries

In the veterinary clinic, 70% of all employees experience transgressive behavior. Specifically, 60% experience physical or verbal violence such as aggression or intimidation, 36% bullying, 6% sexual harassment and 15% discrimination. Comparison with local Dutch research shows that veterinary professionals in the workplace experience more transgressive behavior than the average labor force in the Netherlands (11%, 5%, 4%,10%, respectively) and more aggression and bullying than physicians (27% and 5%, respectively) and health care professionals, including nurses and pharmacy assistants (23% and 5%, respectively).

Increasing numbers

Previous research by Barbonis and Endenburg from 2007 found that 26% of veterinarians and 29% of assistants have experienced aggressive customers. By 2023, this has more than doubled (54% and 65%, respectively). Recent research by the KNMvD early this year found that 70% of veterinarians experience stress from discussions with clients about service rates and one in three consider leaving the practice as a result.

Veterinary support staff experiences more aggression than veterinarians

In the analysis veterinary assistants, front- desk staff, receptionists, nurses and other non-vet team members were grouped together. They experienced aggression significantly more often than veterinarians in 2023 (65% vs. 54%). Being bullied is similar (38% and 35%, respectively), as are sexually harassing behavior (both 6%) and discrimination (both 15%).

Clients as well as colleagues cause transgressive behavior

Not only clients, but also supervisors and colleagues are offenders. Of all participants in this study who experienced aggression, the majority was attributed to clients (79%), and to a lesser extent to colleagues and supervisors (together 21%). The same is true for sexual harassment (61% vs. 39%, respectively). For bullying, the proportion caused by one’s own team rises (56% by customers and 44% by team, respectively). And for discrimination, almost three quarters are caused by the own team, with 52% caused by colleagues and 20% by supervisors.

Young people experience more transgressive behavior than older people

On average, employees under thirty experience significantly more aggression (74%), bullying (55%) and sexual harassment (10%) than people over fifty (36%, 23% and 0% respectively). Of the 594 women participating, 419 experienced some form of transgressive behavior (71%). Of the 36 men, 19 (53%) experienced some form of transgressive behavior. Due to the large number of female participants in this study, no immediate conclusion can be drawn from this.

Comparison by type of practice

Based on these data, there seems to be no significant difference in the overall perceived level of transgressive behavior among corporate practices or independent practices (69% and 71%, respectively). Due to the large number of responses from companion animal clinics it is hard to distinguish between specializations. However, employees of an equine clinic experience more transgressive behavior than employees of a clinic specializing in companion animals or farm animals (77%, 70% and 63%, respectively).

Conclusion

The results of this study show that veterinary employers have an important task in limiting psychosocial workload when it comes to transgressive behavior in veterinary practice. They should not only focus on communication with clients, but certainly also take signals of transgressive behavior seriously within their own team. Veterinary educational institutions can also better prepare future veterinary clinic employees for the situations they may encounter in the workplace.

Why this research

St. St. Anna Advies, a communication consultancy and training agency for the veterinary sector, regularly receives signals of transgressive behavior in veterinary practices. Apart from the aforementioned 2007 survey, no recent data were available about the Dutch situation. The purpose of this study was to independently determine the extent to which veterinary professionals in 2023 experienced transgressive behavior, namely aggression/intimidation, bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination, in the workplace. Specifically, differences between positions, gender, age, location, type of animal species one works with and clinic type (independent or chain) were investigated. To map this out, St. Anna Advies shared an online survey via email newsletter among all veterinary practices in the Netherlands in late December 2023. In addition, the survey was distributed via social media and via newsletters from veterinary organizations. The call explicitly mentioned to respond also if one did not experience any transgressive behavior in 2023, in order to get as complete a picture as possible of the current situation. A total of 632 surveys were analyzed.

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