Horizontal Violence in the Workplace Research Paper

Horizontal Violence in the Workplace - Research Paper Example 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 â€Å"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 refe rs 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 bull ying. 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 relationsh ips 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