A Victim’s Checklist of Behaviors
According to Wilkie (1996, p. 3-5), Horizontal Violence affects people progressively. Most people transition through three specific stages until they are no longer able to deal effectively with their emotions, their environment, or even their job. These three stages include identifiable symptoms and may help you track the personal impact of your situation.
Stage 1 - Activation of the fight or flight response causes higher circulating levels of adrenalin
· Reduced self esteem
· Sleeping disorders
· Free floating anxiety
· Low Morale
· Eating disorders
Stage 2 - Neurotransmitters become depleted from lack of sleep and the brain becomes over stimulated and over sensitive
· Difficulty with emotional control - bursting into tears or laughter/irritable or angry responses
· Difficulty with motivation – a self-starter becomes “burned out”
· Hypertension
· Nervous conditions
· Apathy
Stage 3 - Brain circuit breakers are activated
· A relative intolerance of sensory stimulation
· Loss of the ability to ignore things that before were manageable
· Changed response patterns which superficially resemble a change of personality (brain circuit breakers induce person to actively reduce incoming stimuli)
· Disconnectedness
· Depression
· Impaired personal relationships
· Removal of self from workplace - psychologically, physically (sick leave, stress leave, resignation)
· Suicide (successful or attempted)
(See Wilkie, W. (1996). “Understanding the behavior of victimized people" in McCarthy, P. Sheehan, M. & Wilkie, W. (eds) Bullying, from backyard to boardroom. Millennium Books: Australia.)
In 2010, Hutchinson et al published the results of a study that typified bullying behavior into 3 categories: personal attacks, erosion of professional competence and reputation, and attacks through work roles and tasks. Over time, if you repeatedly experience the following checklist of behaviors, adapted from that study, you may be a victim of horizontal violence:
Personal Attacks
Have you repeatedly been the target of isolating, marginalizing behavior by an individual or group you work with?
( ) Been excluded from conversations
( ) Been the target of malicious gossip
( ) Been excluded from activities
( ) Specifically been denied important information or communications
( ) Been ignored
( ) Been separated from peers who were supportive of your interests and needs
( ) Been the victim of slurs and jokes based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation
Have you repeatedly been intimidated or threatened, on a covert or overt basis, by an individual or group you work with?
( ) Been the target of raised voices or hands
( ) Been stared at, watched or followed
( ) Had your personal belongs or work equipment tampered with or destroyed
( ) Had your patient care compromised or obstructed
( ) Been the target of verbal or physical threats
( ) Been singled out and unfairly monitored
( ) Been the victim of repeated verbal abuse
( ) Been pushed or shoved
( ) Had your work sabotaged
( ) Been told not to report incidents of hostility or face repercussions
Have you repeatedly been the target of belittling, degrading or humiliating behaviors by an individual or a group you work with?
( ) Deliberate rolling of eyes
( ) Been the target “humorous” put downs
( ) Folding arms of arms
( ) Staring into space when communication is attempted
( ) Disinterest, discouragement and withholding support
( ) Body language designed to discomfort another or others
( ) Ignoring or minimizing another's concerns
( ) Limiting right to free speech and right to have an opinion
( ) Behaviors which seek to control or dominate (power 'over' rather than power 'with')
( ) ‘Freezing out‘; excluding from activities and conversation, work related and social
( ) Been the consistent butt of sarcastic comments
( ) Been consistently blamed or made to feel stupid or incompetent
( ) Been accused of mental instability
( ) Been publicly humiliated by your mistakes
( ) Received excessive criticism
( ) Had your area of practice, level of expertise, educational experience or setting denigrated publicly
Professional Competence and Reputation
Have you repeatedly had your professional identity including skills, qualifications and quality of work unfairly attacked, either covertly or overtly?
( ) Been publicly denigrated for your ability
( ) Been publicly denigrated for your achievements
( ) Publicly had your skills questioned
( ) Been consistently assigned work that is demeaning and below your skill level
( ) Received unsubstantiated claims of poor performance
( ) Been the butt of rumors, slander or character slurs
( ) Public had your credentials questioned
Have you been unfairly denied professional opportunities?
( ) Been denied opportunities to compete for promotion
( ) Been denied promotion based upon unfair reports of your work group or supervisor
( ) Been overlooked for promotion
( ) Been excluded from committees and activities
( ) Been excluded from social groups that enhance organizational reputation and communication
( ) Been isolated from managerial contact
( ) Been excluded unfairly from skill development or educational opportunities, or travel
( ) Been given assignments that erode your skills
Work Roles and Tasks
Have you repeatedly experienced systematic discrimination that makes it more difficult to succeed?
( ) Been relocated so that your job is more difficult
( ) Been removed from administrative support
( ) Been excluded from routine information necessary for your job
( ) Had your work reorganized so that you are working in isolation
( ) Had necessary equipment removed from your work area
( ) Been assigned an unreasonable workload or unmanageable, changing deadlines
( ) Is your work excessively scrutinized
( ) Have you been denied meal breaks or other benefits
( ) Have you been required to complete an unreasonable amount of written records unlike your coworkers
( ) Have you been denied sick or conference leave
Have you received unfair sanctions by supervisors?
( ) Have you been unfairly rostered to lower paid shift work
( ) Have you been given a limited number of shifts while others unfairly receive preference
( ) Have you been unfairly dismissed from your organization
( ) Has your position been reclassified to a lower status
( ) Have you been denied redress of your concerns
(See Hutchinson M, Vickers M, Wilkes L & Jackson D (2010) A typology of bullying behaviors: The experiences of Australian Nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing 19, 2319-2328.)
Symptoms of Workplace Stress
In addition, workplace violence takes a significant toll on the victims’ personal health, social interactions, family health and professional life. Symptoms of workplace stress from horizontal violence were categorized by Bigony in 2009.
Are you exhibiting the following signs? If so, you may be suffering from stress in a toxic workplace.
Physical Signs of Stress
( ) Weight loss or gain
( ) Cardiac palpitations
( ) GI disorders
( ) Headaches
( ) Sleep disorders
( ) Chronic fatigue
( ) Hypertension
( ) Nervous conditions
( ) Eating Disorders
( ) Fibromyalgia
Emotional Signs of Stress
( ) Depression
( ) Anxiety
( ) Low Self-Esteem
( ) PTSD
( ) Feelings of isolation and insecurity
( ) Suicidal or homicidal thoughts
( ) Low morale
( ) Apathy
( ) Depression
( ) Bursts of anger
Social Signs of Stress
( ) Inability to relate to others
( ) Disconnectedness
( ) Impaired personal relationships
Professional Signs of Stress
( ) Burnout
( ) Job Dissatisfaction
( ) Absenteeism
( ) Affected Patient Care
( ) Do you want to quit your job?
( ) Removal of self from workplace (sick leave, stress leave, resignation)
(See Bigony L, Luncberg A & Pagac G (2009) Lateral violence in the perioperative setting. AORN Journal 89 (4), 688-696.)