Horizontal Violence in the Workplace - Research Paper Example

? Horizontal Violence in the Workplace: Outline: I. Horizontal violence A. Defining horizontal violence B. Perception of workplace bullying C. Signs of work place bullying II. Theorized causes A. Oppressed group behavior B. Hierarchy C. Leadership style III. Consequences A. Effects of bullying on health B. Effects of bullying on work place environment C. Effect of bullying socially IV. Action taken A. Act taken by an Individual 1) Victims assertiveness 2) Change communication language B. Act taken by facilities 1) Build awareness 2) Training 3) Counseling V. Conclusion A. Analytical summary B. Thesis statement reworded C. Concluding statement Horizontal Violence Definition: Horizontal violence is defined as the antagonistic behavior by an individual or people towards another individual or a group of people. It is can be classified as an act of bullying, which is today reported to be extensive among the nurses and health care professionals. According to Yildirim (2009), it is an unacceptable endemic present in the workplace culture. Yildirim’s view is that all members in organizations should address this issue as a group in order to eliminate this detrimental behavior. Additionally, it can be viewed as an inter-group conflict at work which may be manifested in concealed or unconcealed hostile behavior. When the term “horizontal violence” is applied in the nursing profession, it thereby defines a nurse to nurse aggression. This violence may be in the form of nonverbal or verbal behavior. Vartia (2001) states that it refers to situations where an individual is subjected to a recurrent and long-lasting hostile act which is oppressing. Those who are targeted have low self confidence as compared to those who are not targets. Thesis statement: From a principled outlook, tolerating bullying behavior is wrong and it violates the basic oath of keeping patients safety. Workplace Perception of Bullying There are numerous views that exist at work regarding why some workers are bullied and why people bully others. The perceived notion at work is that those who bully do it because it promotes their individual feelings. Bullies perceive that they can use their positions, for those in power, over those who may be weak. The perceived control of the bully over the victim may be the key to this act. An individual perceived by other people to be different may be exposed to some form of bullying acts. In cases where an organization or certain individuals perceive others as a threat, there are increased chances of bullying. Additionally, perceptions of bullying or horizontal violence at work may also be under the influence of the culture in the organization. When an organization’s culture is positive, workers adopt proper behavior. However, when the culture in the firm is negative, workers’ attitudes towards new and different individuals are inappropriate. Signs of Work Place Bullying The detrimental effects of psychological cruelty may begin to appear as a result of collective injuries that may progressively build up in an individual, in this case a nurse. These are signs that bullying is taking place at work, among the health professionals. Among the nurses, signs of bullying range from nurses finding their tasks extremely difficult, low self esteem, to nurses with poor goals (Vartia, 2001). According to Yildirim (2009), signs of a bullied worker or nurse include: reduced motivation at work, low productivity, reduced concentration span, poor commitment to work and their relationships with the managers, colleagues and patients are extremely poor. If these signs are not identified earlier, they are most likely to spill over to other nurses at work, thereby corroding a peaceful workplace environment for all health-care professionals. The anger that a nurse may feel towards a colleague who bullies may be channeled to actions that are not constructive. Thomas (2009) states that fatigue, depression and physical health problems are some of the signs depicted. Through his research, he also found that among the professionals offering human services, nurses were the group that scored highly when it came to anger proneness. Theorized Causes Oppressed Group Behavior in Bullying In oppressed group behavior, one group tends to be more powerful than the other group. In such a case, there is an occurrence of oppression when the dominant group represses the subordinate group. When the subordinate group’s ideas and values are rejected, and the values of the dominant group valued, the repressed group develops inferior feelings. The inferior group thereby, responds by causing internal conflicts. This is how horizontal violence begins in the nursing profession. The actions of an oppressed group occur when such a group develops the idea that the authority structure has eliminated the group. Nurses have no control in regard to activities conducted in their work environment, but are always held liable when there are problems. This results in anxiety and trauma in such an individual. Such an oppressed group member responds nastily or insolently towards nurses who have no authority. Oppressed group behavior in the nursing profession may also occur when female nurses have to report to male managers or physicians. According to Thomas (2008, p.10), 75% of the perpetrators in the nursing profession were men who harassed the female nurses. In this case, the female nurses develop the submissive, aggressive syndrome as they lack control over their activities. When such a nurse feels she has no power, she reacts by overpowering the younger nurses through aggressiveness.  Hierarchy In the nursing profession, aggression between people may occur in the same hierarchical level. It can also occur among those who may be in the hierarchical level, such as when senior and more experienced nurses bully the new graduates. Every nurse may face workplace bullying regardless of their position and level of education. However, young nurses face increased bullying than the older nurses (Yildirim, 2009). People in the nursing profession who have high positions believe that the depiction of psychological violent behavior at work is part of their position. They justify this behavior because of their professionalism and structure of hierarchy. Bullying cases go unreported in most health-care facilities because people who are in managerial positions are not sensitive to such actions (Yildirim, 2009, p. 505). Leadership Style The leadership style that nurse administrators use is of vital influence when it comes to determining the culture at workplace environment. Effective leadership styles are highly dependent on a situation at work. If the nursing program has numerous new nurse educators, an authoritarian leadership style tends to be the strategy used. In this case, nurses express feelings of dissatisfaction and lack of freedom to offer suggestions. When the faculty members have years of experience, a participative style is used, but in most cases, nurse administrators still want to exercise the authoritarian style of leadership. What most nurse administrators in health facilities do not recognize or remember, is that they are working with other professionals. Most of them still want to control and direct even the most senior nurses with many years of experience. Most hospital executives tend to be in denial when it comes to issues of dissatisfaction among the nurses. In the other case scenarios, nurses have also participated in the phenomenon where they do not support their new and young nurses at work. Most of these young nurses have no support from experienced nurses and learn through “trial by fire” techniques. This only discourages teamwork among the experienced and inexperienced nurses. Consequences of Horizontal Violence Horizontal violence has a tremendous impact on the psychological, physical health, and well-being of the victim. Research by Vartia (2001) illustrates by what means horizontal violence has an impact on the organizations in which the bullying occurs, causing decreased job satisfaction, poorer performance, depression, among other things (p. 63). In addition, Yildirm (2009) explains just how workplace bullying can also negatively impact patients’ safety (p. 505). Effects of Bullying on Health It is known that stress negatively impacts health, and bullying is a highly stressful situation that can cause lasting psychological and physical damage. Multiple workplace bullying researches indicate that members of a given work group who witness bullying, but are not directly bullied, also experience stress. Exposure to bullying significantly increases rates of psychological distress such as low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. In a 2009 study of Turkish nurses, “nearly half of the participating nurses had symptoms of depression, and the depression experienced by the nurses had a significant effect (33%) on being exposed to psychologically violent behaviors” (Yildirm, 2009, p. 509). Workplace bullying can also impact the physical health of victims. Victims exhibit increased level of anger that can result in physical symptoms complaints such as dizziness, stomach aches, chronic fatigue and insomnia (Thomas, 2009, p. 36). Effects of Bullying in Work Place Environment According to Yildirm (2009), multiple international studies have indicated that workplace bullying is more prevalent than any other types of violence (p. 504). This type of violence makes the work atmosphere in any facility unbearable. Victims of workplace bullying have trouble working efficiently and effectively. The result from the study conducted by Yildirm (2009) indicated that individuals exposed to workplace bullying had poor work performance. “The area of job performances that were most effected were job motivation, energy level, and commitment to work (Yildirm, 2009, p. 508). Furthermore, workplace violence experience can affect careers that entail patient care, such as nursing. Effects of Bullying Socially As aforementioned, bullying at work may not only have adverse effects on the victims, but also on those who witness bullying taking place. The bystanders in such a scenario report cases of mental and general stress than those who were not bullied. Bullying in such a case is not connected to the observer’s level of self-confidence (Vartia, 2001, p.67). The most ironic part about nurse to nurse aggression is that it is highly prevalent among nurses who should understand each other. Bullying seems to affect all nurses with no key differences in terms of education and position. Those who get bullied tend to do the same to those they view as their subordinates or with no authority. On an overall scale, bullying among the workers leads to poor relationships with their colleagues at work and administrators and poor communication skills with patients (Yildirim, 2009). Acts Taken by an Individual Victims’ Assertiveness For the victim to be assertive, they need to expresses their individual feelings and defend their rights. Assertiveness as a quality is properly used when an individual wants to develop their life. When used to control one’s life and not the lives of others, it becomes an increased advantage to self-confidence. Bullies are the excellent example of individuals with a dominant personality who seek to emphasize themselves through force and not assertive consensus. One way a victim can use to overcome bullies is by reporting the source of the problem and breaking the silence. The victim should investigate a process that can be carried out to put a stop to bullying. To be assertive also requires the individual to be reflective in their practices. This may involve keeping a journal about personal values and attitudes. Lastly, the problem should be immediately noted and addressed the moment it happens. Change Communication Language One of the ways in which victims of horizontal violence at work can overcome it is by changing their communication skills. This is also applicable to bullies and the way they communicate to other people at work. Name calling and telling jokes that are offensive should be done away with, as part of preventing bullying. Verbal abuse such as spreading rumors and participating in anonymous phone messages are part of bullying. To change communication language at work, such behavior has to be eliminated. A victim of bullying should be willing to speak up when the unenviable event happens. Acts Taken by Facilities Build Awareness Workplace bullying in health-care facilities among the nurses is now a significant occupational issue that is recognized in most states. One of the key steps when it comes to teaching nurses on how to reduce on bullying, is to show them when and how to avoid it. One of the key mistakes that nurses make when a bully confronts them is to reason with the bully. However, when an individual is gratifying to the bully, this only worsens the situation, depicting that the bully is in power. Building awareness among the nurses on strategies to use when confronted by a bully is thus crucial. Bullying may occur when bullies gain support from compliant workers against those who are not compliant. Resigning should never be the option; therefore, being aware of what to do when bullied is more time saving and less discouraging. Training Nurses should be trained on the process of how to report violent incidents immediately they happen. This also involves being educated on such matters. In training, there is monitoring and transparency where administrators of health facilities have to report yearly to the government according to the provisions provided by the health ministries in most states. The reports include the number of incidents that bullying takes place and the actions taken. Nurse administrators should also be trained on how to collect data when bullying incidents occur. This may involve making the incidents public and implementing proper privacy protection policies to make sure student nurses are protected. Counseling Access to proper counseling services at work should be a necessity when it comes to bullying. Information on where and when to get counseling services should be displayed on hospital notice boards for all to see. Additionally, nurse administrators need to improve the situation at work, by using interventions to measure the behavior in groups that are oppressed and break the oppression cycle. Conclusion The issue of bullying in health facilities has gained attention as most nurse administrators fight back to retain the bullied nurses and recruit new staff. Nurse leaders can, therefore, be said to be models of the nurse work group culture as they are the key to combating bullying among the nurses. Assisting victims of bullying is not the only solution to this problem. Bullying has to be classified as unfashionable and policy should be developed to counteract this habit. If the hospital administrators tolerate bullying behavior, it spells out that they are in full support of breaching the oath of keeping patients safe. Conclusively, every person is, therefore, responsible for ensuring a working environment that is conducive. References Thomas, S.P. (2009). Transforming nurses’ stress and anger: Steps toward healing (3rded.). New York, NY: Springer. Vartia, M. (2001). Consequences of workplace bullying with respect to the well-being of its targets and the observers of bullying. Scandinavia Journal Work Environment Health, 27(1), 63-69. Yildirim, D. (2009). Bullying among nurses and its effect. International Nursing Review, 56, 504-511. Read More