Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 36:266–271, 2015 Copyright © 2015 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. ISSN: 0161-2840 print / 1096-4673 online DOI: 10.3109/01612840.2014.955934 Arrogance in the Workplace: Implications for Mental Health Nurses Michelle Cleary, RN, PhD University of Western Sydney, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Garry Walter, MBBS, BMedSc, PhD University of Sydney and Northern Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Jan Sayers, RN, PhD University of Western Sydney, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Violeta Lopez, RN, PhD National University of Singapore, Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore City, Singapore Catherine Hungerford, RN, PhD University of Canberra, Disciplines of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia Cultures of performativity may contribute to organizational and individual arrogance. Workplace organizations have individu- als who at various times will display arrogance, which may manifest in behaviours, such as an exaggerated sense of self-importance, dis- missiveness of others, condescending behaviors and an impatient manner. Arrogance is not a flattering label and irrespective of the reason or the position of power, in the context of organizational behaviors, may not be useful and may even be detrimental to the work environment. Thus, it is timely to reflect on the implications of arrogance in the workplace. Advocacy and empowerment can be undermined and relationships adversely impacted, including the achievement of positive consumer outcomes. This paper pro- vides an introduction to arrogance, and then discusses arrogance to promote awareness of the potential consequences of arrogance and its constituent behaviors. INTRODUCTION Arrogant attitudes and behaviors, including self-superiority, self-importance, or treating others dismissively or condescend- ingly, are not uncommon in the workplace (Johnson et al., 2010). While these attitudes or behaviors may be a product of the organizations for which people work, arrogance is neverthe- less detrimental to collegial relationships, team work, partner- ships and, ultimately, organizational outcomes (Padua & Lerin, Address correspondence to Michelle Cleary, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. E-mail: m.cleary@uws.edu.au 2010). Specific to the mental health context, arrogance can also adversely affect therapeutic relationships, undermine advocacy for and the empowerment of consumers and, as such, challenge the outcomes of consumer-centered approaches to health care (Cleary, Walter, & Hungerford, 2014). The need to improve the culture of mental health organizations is well acknowledged (Cleary & Horsfall, 2013), but papers addressing issues related to arrogance are largely absent from the mental health nursing literature. This paper explores the notion of arrogance in mental health service settings, with a view to raising awareness in mental health nurses of the issues involved. To enable the alignment of core values of the individual and their professional behav- ior, arrogance is considered as both a state of being and also a perception within a critical social theoretical paradigm (e.g. Habermas, 1989). The ways in which arrogant attitudes or be- haviors can affect people in their workplaces are also considered, to encourage personal and practice reflection and discussion on the implications of arrogance in the workplace. In conclusion, consideration is given to the different options for managing the arrogant attitudes or behaviors of others, including the attitudes and behaviors exhibited by people in positions of leadership. What Is Arrogance? Arrogance has been defined as a condition or attribute whereby an individual perceives that he or she is in some way superior to others and so has no need to show courtesy or respect, 266