Workplace violence includes actions that cause physical and psychological damage which occur at work. The actions include physical harm, verbal and written threats and harassment that is either physical or verbal. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health grouped violence into four types where type one involves people with criminal tendencies who are not related to the business and type two involving a patient who gets violent while being treated. Type three violence is violence between two workers while type four involves persons related to the target but not the business (American Nurses Association, 2017). Despite some major incidents in the past few years, violence in the medical setting is often underrated and overlooked, but health workers are the most vulnerable.
Horizontal violence is directed from one colleague to another to disrespect and devalue them. The behavior is mostly non-verbal with examples such as ignoring them, gossiping about them as well as mocking them sarcastically but has lasting consequences like sadness, loss of trust, low self-esteem and confidence and anxiety (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2015). Moreover, nurses not only suffer from depression and job dissatisfaction but also have trouble relating to their peers at the workplace. In most cases, nurses often consider changing careers or transferring to a new hospital. The safety of the patients is also compromised since some nurses may take on their frustrations on the patients (Beck, 2018). Communication is disrupted primarily when the individuals use threatening body language and a rude tone because the workers often feel too intimidated to hold a meaningful conversation.
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In retrospect, employees need to change the notion that violence is a part of the job or that one has to be rude and talk loudly to gain respect. Instead, workers should be encouraged to respect other's opinions and coexist harmoniously for the perfect delivery of health services. Workplace violence harms workers in ways that prevent them from taking care of patients effectively. For this reason, several measures such as counseling for victims and disciplinary actions should be implemented to curb the violence menace.
References
American Nurses Association. (2017). Workplace violence. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/state/workplace-violence2/
Beck, D.L. (2018, December 6). Hazardous to your health: Violence in the health-care workplace. ASH Clinical News . Retrieved from https://www.ashclinicalnews.org/features/hazardous-health-violence-health-care-workplace/
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2015). Nurses face epidemic levels of violence at work . Retrieved from https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2015/07/nurses-face- epidemic-levels-of-violence-at-work.html
